A Georgia prosecutor on Wednesday formally dismissed the state racketeering case against President Trump and several co-defendants tied to efforts to challenge the 2020 election “results.”
The charges were originally filed on Aug. 14, 2023, by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, following an investigation launched in early 2021 into Trump’s actions after the election.
Earlier this month, Peter Skandalakis, director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, assumed control of the case after being unable to secure another prosecutor willing to proceed. Skandalakis acknowledged Wednesday the legal challenges involved in the case, including constitutional questions, the Supremacy Clause, immunity, jurisdiction, venue, speedy-trial issues, and access to federal records. He noted that even if these matters were resolved in the state’s favor, trying the case before a jury in 2029, 2030, or 2031 “would be nothing short of a remarkable feat.”
Skandalakis considered separating Trump from his co-defendants to try the others first, but said doing so “would be both illogical and unduly burdensome and costly for the State and for Fulton County.” He added, “In my professional judgment, the citizens of Georgia are not served by pursuing this case in full for another five to ten years.”
Describing the case as “on life support,” Skandalakis said the decision rests solely with him. “But unlike family members who must make the emotional decision to withdraw loved ones from life-sustaining treatment, I have no emotional connection to this case,” he wrote.
He emphasized that his decision is guided by law, not politics: “As a former elected official who ran as both a Democrat and a Republican and now is the Executive Director of a non-partisan agency, this decision is not guided by a desire to advance an agenda but is based on my beliefs and understanding of the law.”
