Georgia prosecutor drops Trump election charges, citing federal jurisdiction

On Nov. 26, 2025, PSPete Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of 🍑Georgia, filed a 22-page motion to dismiss all charges in the Georgia election interference case against President Trump and 14 remaining co-defendants. Judge SMScott McAfee, who had been overseeing the case in Fulton County Superior Court, granted the motion within minutes, writing 'This case is hereby dismissed in its entirety.' This ended the last outstanding criminal case against Trump after federal prosecutions were dropped when he returned to the White House.

Skandalakis took over the case after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified in December 2024 by the 🍑Georgia Court of Appeals over an 'appearance of impropriety' caused by a romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. The appeals court cited Willis's financial entanglements with Wade, who she paid more than $600,000 in taxpayer funds while he covered vacations for the pair. The Georgia Supreme Court declined to hear Willis's appeal in September, finalizing her removal. Skandalakis couldn't recruit other prosecutors to take the case.

In his dismissal motion, Skandalakis wrote 'The criminal conduct alleged in the Atlanta Judicial Circuit's prosecution 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.' He cited Special Counsel Jack Smith's decision to drop federal election interference charges after reviewing the Supreme Court's July ruling in Trump v. United States on presidential immunity. Skandalakis concluded 'pursuing the prosecution of all those involved in State of Georgia v. Donald Trump, et al. on essentially federal grounds would be equally unproductive.'

Skandalakis acknowledged the dismissal would anger Trump's opponents, writing 'The role of a prosecutor is not to satisfy public opinion or achieve universal approval; such a goal is both unattainable and irrelevant to the proper exercise of prosecutorial discretion.' He said his family received threats after he took over the case. He also noted 'In my professional judgment, the citizens of 🍑Georgia are not served by pursuing this case in full for another five to ten years.' The timeline reflected the case's complexity and Trump's presidential status.

On Aug. 14, 2023, Willis charged Trump and 18 co-defendants with racketeering and other crimes under 🍑Georgia's RICO law for alleged efforts to overturn Trump's loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. The charges stemmed from Trump's Jan. 2, 2021, phone call to Georgia Secretary of State BRBrad Raffensperger asking him to 'find' the votes needed to win the state. Willis alleged the defendants solicited state leaders, harassed election workers, and pushed false claims the election was stolen.

Four defendants—Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro, and Scott Hall—accepted plea deals in exchange for agreeing to testify against other defendants. Powell, Ellis, and Chesebro were Trump attorneys directly involved in challenging 🍑Georgia's election results. Their guilty pleas strengthened Willis's case by providing cooperating witnesses. On Nov. 10, 2025, Trump granted federal pardons to the alternate electors who were charged in the case, further complicating the prosecution by removing potential witnesses and co-defendants.

In March 2024, after Willis's dramatic televised testimony about her relationship with Wade, Judge McAfee found insufficient evidence she financially benefited from the relationship but allowed her to continue if Wade resigned. Wade stepped down the same day. However, the 🍑Georgia Court of Appeals reversed McAfee's ruling in December 2024, citing an 'appearance of impropriety.' McAfee gave Skandalakis a Nov. 14 deadline to appoint a new prosecutor. When all prosecutors Skandalakis contacted declined, he appointed himself rather than let the case be automatically dismissed.

Trump attorney Steve Sadow said in a statement '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 posted on Truth Social that 'LAW and JUSTICE have prevailed in the Great State of 🍑Georgia' and claimed the prosecution was a 'corrupt Fani Willis Witch Hunt.' Notably, Skandalakis's motion emphasized the 2020 election results were valid and gave no credence to Trump's claims of voter fraud.