Georgia case against Trump dropped, ending efforts to punish president over 2020 election aftermath

ATLANTA – A judge on Wednesday dismissed the Georgia election interference case against President Donald Trump and others after the prosecutor who took over the case said he would not pursue the charges, ending the last effort to punish the president in the courts for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.

Pete Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, took over the case earlier this month from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who was removed over an “appearance of impropriety” created by a romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she chose to lead the case.

After Skandalakis' filing, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee issued an order dismissing the case in its entirety.

The case began nearly five years ago, when Willis made public her intent to investigate whether illegal attempts were made to influence the state’s 2020 election. That included a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call in which Trump was recorded urging Georgia’s secretary of state to help find the votes needed to overturn his loss in the critical swing state.

It was the most wide-ranging of four criminal cases brought against Trump in 2023. The resources and manpower required to pursue such a sprawling case made it unsurprising that other prosecutors declined to take it on after Willis' removal.

The latest criminal case against Trump to unravel

The abandonment of the Georgia case is the latest reflection of how Trump has emerged largely unscathed from a spate of prosecutions that once threatened his political career and personal liberty.

Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, who had charged Trump with conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election and hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, dropped both cases after Trump won the White House last year. Smith cited longstanding Justice Department policy against the indictment of a sitting president.

And though Trump was convicted of felony charges in New York in connection with hush money payments during the 2016 election, he was sentenced in January to an unconditional discharge, leaving his conviction intact but sparing him any punishment.

It was unlikely that legal action against Trump could have moved forward while he is president. But 14 other defendants still faced charges, including former New York mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

Steve Sadow, Trump's lead attorney in Georgia, applauded the dismissal: “The political persecution of President Trump by disqualified DA Fani Willis is finally over. This case should never have been brought. A fair and impartial prosecutor has put an end to this lawfare.”

Trump celebrated the news in a lengthy social media post, saying, “LAW and JUSTICE have prevailed in the Great State of Georgia, as the corrupt Fani Willis Witch Hunt against me, and other Great American Patriots, has been DISMISSED in its entirety.”

The Associated Press has reached out to a spokesperson for Willis seeking comment.

“The strongest and most prosecutable case against those seeking to overturn the 2020 Presidential election results and prevent the certification of those votes was the one investigated and indicted by Special Counsel Jack Smith,” Skandalakis wrote in his court filing Wednesday.

He added that the criminal conduct alleged in the Georgia indictment “was conceived in Washington, D.C., not the State of Georgia. The federal government is the appropriate venue for this prosecution, not the State of Georgia.”

Skandalakis' review of the case

Skandalakis said he undertook the review of the case “with an understanding of the grave seriousness with which many citizens view the events discussed in this case. I share their concerns and acknowledge the impact that my decision will have.”

He said the indictment “alleges a compelling set of acts” that, if proven beyond a reasonable doubt, “would establish a conspiracy undertaken by multiple individuals” working to overturn the 2020 presidential election. In his filing, he walked through the different parts of the case to explain why he didn't pursue them.

Among the obstacles he cited are the “complexity of the legal issues at hand” in prosecuting Trump, saying that even if everything was decided in prosecutors' favor, “bringing this case before a jury in 2029, 2030, or even 2031 would be nothing short of a remarkable feat.”

Skandalakis wrote that he considered separating the other remaining defendants and trying them separately. But he noted that Trump is the lead defendant and “bears the responsibility for any conspiracy” that could be proven. Holding separate trials for the others would be “illogical and unduly burdensome and costly.”

Why a new prosecutor took over the Georgia case

After the Georgia Supreme Court in September declined to hear Willis’ appeal of her disqualification, it fell to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council to find a new prosecutor. After several other prosecutors declined to take the case, Skandalakis appointed himself.

Skandalakis has led the small, nonpartisan council since 2018, and previously spent about 25 years as the elected district attorney for the Coweta Judicial Circuit, southwest of Atlanta. He noted in Wednesday's filing that he has run for office as both a Democrat and a Republican.

How the Georgia case fell apart

Willis, an elected Democrat, announced the indictment against Trump and 18 others in August 2023, using the state’s anti-racketeering law to allege a wide-ranging conspiracy to illegally overturn Trump’s narrow loss in Georgia. Four people pleaded guilty in the months that followed after reaching deals with prosecutors.

Defense attorneys sought Willis’ removal after one revealed in January 2024 that Willis had a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired to lead the case. Willis and Wade disputed allegations that their relationship created a conflict of interest.

The judge rebuked Willis for a “tremendous lapse in judgment” but found no disqualifying conflict of interest, ruling she could stay on the case if Wade resigned, which he did hours later.

Defense attorneys appealed, and the Georgia Court of Appeals removed Willis from the case in December 2024. The state Supreme Court declined to hear Willis’ appeal.

___

This story has been corrected to show that Skandalakis took over the case in November, not October.

____

Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed.