Topline
The sole remaining criminal case against President Donald Trump has now been dropped, after prosecutor Peter Skandalakis urged a Georgia judge Wednesday to drop the case after taking it over from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willisâthe latest instance of Trump and his allies escaping prosecution for their efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Key Facts
Skandalakis filed a motion with the court asking for the case to be dismissed, after the Georgia prosecutor named himself to take over the probe from Willis, who was disqualified from overseeing the case due to her romantic relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade.
Judge Scott McAfee granted the prosecutorâs motion and dropped the case in a one-page order minutes later, ruling the case is now âdismissed in its entirety.â
Skandalakis took over the case earlier in November and was tasked with determining how, and if, the case should move forward, saying at the time his âonly objective is to ensure that this case is handled properly, fairly, and with full transparency discharging my duties without fear, favor, or affection.â
In a court filing Wednesday, the new prosecutor cited the âcomplexity of the legal issues at handâ in prosecuting the case, which was brought against Trump and more than a dozen other defendants, arguing in a court filing that âbringing this case before a jury in 2029, 2030, or even 2031 would be nothing short of a remarkable feat.â
Even just moving forward with the case against Trumpâs allies while putting the presidentâs case on hold âwould be both illogical and unduly burdensome and costly for the State and for Fulton County,â the prosecutor wrote.
A spokesperson for Trumpâs legal team has not yet responded to a request for comment.
What To Watch For
Since the case was dismissed by the prosecutor who brought it, rather than dismissed by the court because of a defect, there is no appeals process for reviving it. The sole criminal proceedings against the president are now in Manhattan, where Trump is in the process of appealing the guilty verdict against him for falsifying business records.
This story is breaking and will be updated.