A Georgia criminal case accusing former President Donald Trump and more than a dozen associates of trying to overturn the 2020 election in that state has officially ended.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on Wednesday ordered, “The case is hereby dismissed in its entirety.”
Pete Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, moved to terminate the prosecution after assuming responsibility for the matter from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who was disqualified by the courts late last year. In his motion, Skandalakis wrote that “the criminal conduct alleged in the Atlanta Judicial Circuit’s prosecution was conceived in Washington, D.C., not the State of Georgia,” and argued the federal government is the appropriate forum for any related charges.
This Georgia prosecution was the last pending criminal matter involving Trump after two federal cases — one related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election and another concerning classified documents — were dropped following his return to the White House earlier this year.
Trump hailed the ruling on social media, 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 Fulton County District Attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Background of the indictment
In August 2023 a Fulton County grand jury indicted Trump and 18 others, including Rudy Giuliani and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, on racketeering and related counts accusing them of a broad conspiracy to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 win in Georgia. The indictment cited, among other episodes, a recorded January 2021 phone call in which Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” 11,780 votes — the one-vote margin that would have changed the outcome in Georgia.
Prosecutors also alleged schemes to submit an alternate slate of Trump electors, attempts to obtain sensitive voting-machine data and efforts to pressure state officials into altering the election result. After the indictment, Trump and many co-defendants were booked at the Fulton County Jail; Trump’s mug shot became an enduring image of the case. Most defendants pleaded not guilty. Four co-defendants accepted plea deals, and those agreements remain binding.
Legal fights over the district attorney
The prosecution was heading toward trial when attorneys for a co-defendant moved to dismiss, contending that DA Fani Willis had an improper personal relationship with a special prosecutor she had hired, Nathan Wade. Willis acknowledged the relationship but maintained it did not affect the prosecution.
Judge McAfee initially held that Willis could remain on the case if Wade resigned. The Georgia Court of Appeals later reversed that decision, removing Willis and her office from the matter; the Georgia Supreme Court declined to intervene, effectively leaving the disqualification in place.
Skandalakis’ review and reasoning
Skandalakis, the nonpartisan official in Georgia who is normally responsible for appointing a special prosecutor, said in November he would take the case after unsuccessful attempts to recruit another prosecutor. “It’s important that someone makes a decision on this case,” he said at the time. He reviewed the indictment, applicable law and the full investigative file, which he said included 101 banker boxes of documents and an 8-terabyte hard drive.
He considered several options: dismissing charges against Trump while pursuing others, seeking a superseding or revised indictment, or moving forward on some counts while allowing others to lapse. Skandalakis cited practical concerns, including statutes of limitations — four years for most felonies in Georgia and five years for racketeering — and concluded it would be impractical to continue the prosecution in Fulton. He noted that certain charges related to election worker Ruby Freeman could proceed in Cobb County instead of Fulton.
While prosecutions of some Trump allies still proceed in other state courts, Skandalakis’ dismissal brings an end to one of the most high-profile and wide-ranging state-level cases tied to the 2020 election.
Reactions
Not everyone agreed with Skandalakis’ decision. Georgia State University law professor Anthony Michael Kreis argued that state prosecutions are important because a president cannot pardon state convictions, and that abandoning the case risks weakening deterrents against election interference. Kreis also said a public trial would have allowed the evidence to be aired and served as a form of truth-telling that will not occur now.
Skandalakis acknowledged his decision would be controversial and said his family had received threats after he took the case. He wrote that “the role of a prosecutor is not to satisfy public opinion or achieve universal approval,” and that his judgment was guided only by the evidence, the law and principles of justice.