Georgia ends Trump election-interference prosecution
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President Trump speaks at the White House on Nov. 25.. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | Getty Images
A Georgia prosecutor pulled the plug on President Trump's election-interference case, concluding the state couldn't prove criminal intent, overcome presidential-immunity barriers or realistically haul a sitting president into a Fulton County courtroom.
Why it matters: The decision kills the last active criminal case accusing Trump of leading a criminal enterprise to overturn the 2020 election.
Driving the news: Georgia prosecutor Peter J. Skandalakis moved to dismiss the case, arguing the prosecution would be "futile and unproductive" given Trump's re-election and the legal complexities involved.
- The case had charged Trump and more than a dozen co-defendants with trying to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results.
- President Trump's Georgia defense 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."
What's inside: Skandalakis wrote that contesting an election is legal, but the effort around Trump "shifted from a legitimate legal effort into a campaign that ultimately culminated in an attack on the Capitol."
- Georgia Republicans who served as alternate electors, he wrote, were "law-abiding citizens" misled by Trump campaign attorneys, and many of the actions listed in the indictment — phone calls, statements, tweets, meetings — can't sustain a state RICO case.
- He reasoned that if former Special Counsel Jack Smith, "with all the resources of the federal government," couldn't overcome the Supreme Court's immunity ruling and Trump's re-election, a state prosecution "would be equally unproductive."
What he's saying: Skandalakis acknowledged his decision would spark backlash, noting he and his family had already received threats when he took the case.
- "When it became public that I would retain this case to determine the appropriate course of action, reactions were sharply divided," he wrote. "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."
Flashback: Skandalakis appointed himself to take over the case after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified and no other prosecutor would take it.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from Trump's attorney.
