Georgia Drops 2020 Election Case Against President Trump
The criminal case against President Donald Trump over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia has officially been dropped. Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council Director Peter Skandalakis, who took over the case after Fani Willis was disqualified, filed a motion Wednesday to dismiss all charges, stating the prosecution was no longer in the interest of justice.
“The case is hereby dismissed in its entirety,” wrote Judge Scott McAfee in his order granting the motion, ending what had been one of the most high-profile and politically charged cases stemming from the 2020 election cycle.
Skandalakis, a former elected official who has served as both a Democrat and a Republican, cited legal and logistical concerns in his decision. “It is not illegal to question or challenge election results,” he noted in a legal briefing. “Our nation’s foundational principles of free speech and electoral scrutiny are rooted in this very freedom.”
The case had been in turmoil since earlier this year, when Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was removed from overseeing the prosecution due to ethics violations. Specifically, she was found to have improperly appointed her then-boyfriend as special prosecutor, prompting the Georgia Supreme Court to deny her appeal and forcing her off the case.
Skandalakis acknowledged that any realistic attempt to bring President Trump to trial in Georgia was untenable given his current position as sitting President of the United States. “There is no realistic prospect that a sitting President will be compelled to appear in Georgia to stand trial on the allegations in this indictment,” he wrote. Trump’s current term runs through January 20, 2029 — far beyond the statute of limitations tied to the events in question.
He also emphasized the impracticality of prosecuting Trump’s co-defendants, such as former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and DOJ official Jeffrey Clark, without Trump himself as the central figure. “It would be illogical and unduly burdensome and costly,” Skandalakis stated.
President Trump’s legal team hailed the decision as a long-overdue victory, capping a case that critics said was politically motivated from the outset. The dropped charges also remove a major legal cloud that had hovered over the president’s second term and re-election campaign.
Trump’s now-iconic mugshot, taken during booking at the Fulton County Jail last year, had become a symbol for both his detractors and supporters. With the case now closed, it joins a string of dismissed or derailed legal challenges that Trump and his allies say were designed to interfere with his political comeback.