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By Dan Gooding and Gabe Whisnant
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The prosecutor who recently assumed responsibility for the Georgia election interference case involving President Donald Trump and others said in a court filing Wednesday that he will not pursue the case further.
Peter Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, took over the case earlier this month after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was removed over an “appearance of impropriety” stemming from her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she had appointed.
After Skandalakis' filing, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee issued a one-paragraph order dismissing the case in its entirety.
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Trump later reacted to the news, posting on Truth Social that law and justice had prevailed in Georgia.
"This Illegal, Unconstitutional, and unAmerican Hoax was perpetrated against our Nation by Fani and her Low I.Q. Lover, Nathan Wade, at the direction of Crooked Joe Biden and his ''Handlers,'" Trump said, in part. "This case should have never been brought in the first place.
"The Deranged Democrats did all they could to viciously attack me, my supporters, and our MAGA Movement, for telling the TRUTH — THE 2020 ELECTION WAS RIGGED AND STOLEN, and they committed Crime after Crime as they weaponized our Law Enforcement and Justice System against HONEST AND LOVING Americans but, we have fought back and won both in the Courts and Politically with our Historic, Country saving, Landslide Victory of November 5, 2024."
Why It Matters
Legal action against Trump was unlikely to proceed while he is president, but charges were still pending against 14 other defendants, including former New York Mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
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What To Know
In his filing Wednesday, Skandalakis said the indictment against Trump and the others charged "alleges a compelling set of acts which, if proven beyond a reasonable doubt, as required by our Constitution, would establish a conspiracy undertaken by multiple individuals working toward a common objective: to overturn the results of the November 2020 Presidential Election in Georgia, and in other states across the country."
However, the prosecutor said that many of the reasons originally given in the indictment as evidence of such a plot, including arranging phone calls, posting social media messages, and other acts outside the state of Georgia, were not necessarily enough to sustain a RICO case.
Where there could have been a chance of successful prosecution, Skandalakis said, was in the federal case brought by special counsel Jack Smith, as much of the alleged offenses took place in Washington, D.C. The case was ultimately dropped by Smith after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Trump in another case before the 2024 election.
"The federal government is the appropriate venue for this prosecution, not the State of Georgia," he wrote. "Indeed, if Special Counsel Jack Smith, with all the resources of the federal government at his disposal, after reviewing the evidence in this case and considering the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. United States, along with the years of litigation such a case would inevitably entail, concluded that prosecution would be fruitless, then I too find that, despite the available evidence, pursuing the prosecution of all those involved in State of Georgia v. Donald Trump, et al. on essentially federal grounds would be equally unproductive."
Georgia 2020 Election Interference Case: When Were Charges filed?
In August 2023, Trump and a number of his associates were indicted over allegations that they broke the law while attempting to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory in Georgia.
Trump was charged with 13 offenses, including violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, though he strongly denied any wrongdoing.
The president announced pardons for those accused of backing his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election earlier this month, but the new prosecutor said the pardons would not affect the state-level charges.
What Is Racketeering?
The group was accused of violating RICO laws in Georgia, which means acts of acquiring or operating a business through illegal activities, but the rules were also used by Willis to back up her allegations against Trump and his alleged co-conspirators.
In this case, the accused allegedly conspired together to try to overturn the 2020 election results, including phone calls from Trump to Georgia state officials, allegedly pressuring them to find votes necessary for him to win the state.
What People Are Saying
Peter Skandalakis, in his Wednesday filing: "Finally, I recognize that, given the deep political divisions in our country, this decision will not be universally popular. When it became public that I would retain this case to determine the appropriate course of action, reactions were sharply divided. Some citizens praised the decision and supported continued prosecution of President Donald J. Trump, while others condemned it, and a few even issued threats against me and my family.
"Today, I fully expect those reactions to shift. Those who initially supported the decision may now criticize it, exercising their constitutional rights, and in some cases perhaps resorting again to threats, while those who previously opposed the decision may now express approval."
President Donald Trump’s lead Georgia defense counsel Steve Sadow: “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.”
What Happens Next
Skandalakis concluded by saying he hoped that the U.S. would never again face cases like those tied to the president and election results.
Update 11/26/25, 12:09 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 11/26/25, 3:08 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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