A Fulton County Superior Court judge dismissed the historic Georgia criminal case against former President Donald Trump and more than a dozen co-defendants that alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Fulton Superior Judge Scott McAfee ordered the prosecution ended “in its entirety.”
The motion to dismiss was filed by Pete Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified from the case. Skandalakis, who assumed responsibility under state law, argued the alleged criminal conduct was conceived in Washington, D.C., and that federal authorities are the appropriate venue for prosecution.
The Georgia case was the last outstanding criminal matter against Trump following two federal prosecutions — one centered on efforts to overturn the 2020 election and another involving classified documents — that were dropped earlier this year after Trump returned to the White House. Trump praised the ruling on social media, calling it vindication and characterizing the prosecution as a “corrupt Fani Willis Witch Hunt.”
A Fulton County grand jury had indicted Trump and 18 others in August 2023 under Georgia’s racketeering law, alleging a broad conspiracy to reverse Joe Biden’s victory in the state. The indictment cited several episodes, including a recorded January 2021 call in which Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” 11,780 votes — one vote more than his margin of loss — as well as plans to submit an alternate slate of electors, attempts to obtain voting machine data, and pressure on state officials to change the outcome.
After the indictment, many defendants were booked at the Fulton County Jail and a widely circulated mug shot of Trump was released. Most defendants pleaded not guilty; four reached plea agreements that remain in force.
The prosecution was advancing toward trial when defense lawyers for one co-defendant alleged that DA Fani Willis had an improper personal relationship with a special prosecutor she had hired, Nathan Wade. Willis acknowledged the relationship but said it did not affect the case. Judge McAfee initially allowed Willis to stay on the prosecution provided Wade resigned. That ruling was overturned by the Georgia Court of Appeals, which removed Willis and her office from the case; the Georgia Supreme Court declined to rehear the matter.
Skandalakis said he reviewed the indictment, relevant law, and the investigative materials — a file he described as including 101 banker boxes and an 8-terabyte hard drive — and explored several options, such as dismissing only Trump’s charges, seeking a superseding indictment, or delaying prosecution. He concluded that continuing in Fulton County was impractical. He noted that Georgia’s statute of limitations is generally four years for most felonies and five years for racketeering counts. Skandalakis added that charges tied to election worker Ruby Freeman, who was falsely accused and later threatened, could proceed but should be filed in Cobb County rather than Fulton.
Legal observers reacted differently. Georgia State University law professor Anthony Michael Kreis criticized the dismissal, saying state prosecutions play a vital role because a president cannot pardon state offenses, and arguing that a trial would have allowed public airing of evidence. Skandalakis acknowledged his decision would be controversial, said his family had received threats, and defended his exercise of prosecutorial discretion as guided by evidence, law, and justice rather than public opinion.
The Fulton County district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.