In a dramatic turn that has reverberated across the American political landscape, the sprawling Georgia election interference case against President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants was officially dismissed on November 26, 2025. The move, which many legal experts and political observers saw coming, marks the end of a once formidable legal threat to Trump’s post-presidential future and closes a chapter in the saga of efforts to prosecute him for allegedly attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.
The decision was handed down after Peter Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, requested the dismissal. Skandalakis, who took over the case after the removal of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis due to accusations of impropriety and a conflict of interest, made clear in his 22-page filing that he believed continuing the prosecution would not serve the interests of justice or the citizens of Georgia. "In my professional judgment, the citizens of Georgia are not served by pursuing this case in full for another five to ten years," Skandalakis wrote, as reported by ABC News.
Within minutes of Skandalakis’ motion, Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee granted the request, writing, "This case is hereby dismissed in its entirety." The rapid conclusion brought an abrupt end to proceedings that, at their peak, were considered the most threatening of Trump’s four criminal indictments, in part because the state-level charges could not be self-pardoned by a sitting president.
Trump’s legal team, which had long argued that the case was politically motivated, welcomed the decision with a sense of vindication. "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," said Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead attorney, according to both BBC and CNN. A spokesperson for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, another high-profile defendant, echoed similar sentiments, calling the dismissal "long overdue" and a "complete repudiation of the demonstrably false claims that partisan actors used to justify his improper disbarment."
The case originated from a January 2, 2021, phone call in which Trump pressed Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" enough votes to overturn Biden’s narrow victory in the state. According to The Washington Post, Trump stated, "I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state." This call, combined with subsequent efforts by Trump and his allies to challenge the election outcome, formed the basis of a sweeping racketeering indictment filed in August 2023 by then-District Attorney Fani Willis. The indictment accused Trump and 18 others of conspiring to unlawfully change the outcome of the election, including soliciting state leaders, harassing election workers, and promoting unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud.
The case quickly became a national focal point, not least because it was the first in U.S. history to see a former president booked at a county jail and have his mug shot taken. Trump was released on a $200,000 bond, a moment that underscored the gravity and unprecedented nature of the charges.
Four co-defendants—Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna Ellis, and Scott Hall—took plea deals in exchange for their testimony. The remaining defendants, including Giuliani and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, maintained their innocence. The charges, brought under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), mirrored statutes once used to target organized crime. Prosecutors alleged the group "knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump," as noted by BBC.
Yet the prosecution’s momentum was derailed by a series of legal and procedural setbacks. In early 2024, a motion filed by co-defendant Michael Roman led to the disqualification of Willis, following revelations of a romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. Although a judge initially allowed Willis to continue if Wade stepped down, further appeals resulted in her removal by the end of 2024. The case then languished while state officials struggled to find a replacement willing to take on its complexity and political sensitivity. Ultimately, Skandalakis appointed himself after others declined.
In his filing, Skandalakis cited not only the legal and logistical hurdles—ranging from constitutional questions and jurisdictional disputes to speedy-trial concerns and the practical impossibility of compelling a sitting president to stand trial—but also questioned whether the state was the proper venue for such a prosecution. "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 wrote, according to ABC News.
Skandalakis also noted that continuing the case would be "futile and unproductive," especially given the likelihood that Trump, now president again after his 2024 re-election, could not be tried until at least January 2029. Legal experts, including Anthony Michael Kreis of Georgia State College of Law, told BBC that the dismissal was not surprising under these circumstances, given the immense resources required and the unlikelihood of a trial proceeding before Trump left office.
Some observers, however, expressed surprise at the tone of Skandalakis’ report, which they felt gave Trump and his allies significant benefit of the doubt, despite the evidence presented. Meanwhile, Skandalakis emphasized that his decision was not influenced by political considerations: "As a former elected official who ran as both a Democrat and a Republican and now is the Executive Director of a non-partisan agency, this decision is not guided by a desire to advance an agenda but is based on my beliefs and understanding of the law."
The dismissal applies to all remaining defendants, effectively ending the last of Trump’s four criminal cases—only one of which, the New York hush-money case, saw trial and resulted in a conviction now under appeal. Other federal cases related to election interference and classified documents were dropped following Trump’s return to the White House, as longstanding Justice Department policy bars the prosecution of a sitting president. Trump continues to face several high-profile civil lawsuits, including ongoing appeals in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case and a civil fraud suit brought by the New York Attorney General.
As the dust settles on the Georgia case, its dismissal serves as a striking reminder of the complexities and limitations of prosecuting a former—and now current—president. The episode has left many Americans pondering the balance between accountability, the rule of law, and the realities of political power in the United States.
