Charges against President Trump in Georgia election interference case dropped
A judge has rejected a move by prosecutors to close President Donald Trump’s Georgia election interference case.
On November 26, a judge dismissed the Georgia criminal election fraud case against President Donald Trump and his co-defendants at the request of prosecutors.
Peter Skandalakis, executive director of the Georgia Council of Prosecuting Attorneys, said in a motion filed in Fulton County Superior Court that he believes refusing further prosecution “best serves the interests of justice and promotes judicial finality” in the case.
The decision came after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who prosecuted Trump and several other co-defendants, was disbarred from the case because of his romantic relationship with another prosecutor.
Willis’ office and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.
The lawsuit alleges that Trump and others participated in a conspiracy to overturn former President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, including replacing Georgia’s presidential electors with Trump supporters.
Skandalakis said he appointed himself to handle the case because he was unable to secure another prosecutor to handle the case after Willis’ disqualification as president of the Georgia Prosecuting Attorneys Council.
Prosecutor: “There is no realistic prospect” of Trump going to trial soon
In his statement, Skandalakis did not downplay the seriousness of some of the allegations in the case. If proven, he said, it would establish a conspiracy to “overturn the results of the November 2020 presidential election in Georgia and other states across the country.”
But he said there was “no realistic prospect” that a sitting president would have to stand trial in Georgia, meaning the case against Trump would not be reopened until at least 2029, or about eight years after the underlying conduct took place.
Skandalakis added that he believes the strongest case against those trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election is the federal lawsuit brought against Trump by former special counsel Jack Smith. He said the criminal conduct alleged in the Georgia case “originated in Washington, D.C., not in Georgia.”
Smith dropped the federal lawsuit after Trump won the 2024 election, citing a Justice Department policy barring prosecution of sitting presidents.
Skandalakis also rejected the idea of putting Trump’s co-defendants on trial independently, writing that Trump, as the lead defendant, a presidential candidate and later a sitting president, would be “liable for any conspiracy if proven at trial.”
“In my professional judgment, pursuing this case intensively for another five to 10 years will not benefit the people of Georgia,” Skandalakis wrote.
This story has been updated with additional information.
