FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Peter Skandalakis, the executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia, filed a motion Wednesday morning to dismiss the indictment of Pres. Donald Trump and his alleged co-conspirators in Fulton County.
Channel 2 Action News reported when Skandalakis took over the prosecution duties for the case on Nov. 14 after efforts to retain a different prosecutor were unsuccessful.
“In my professional judgment, the citizens of Georgia are not served by pursuing this case in full for another five to ten years,” Skandalakis said in a statement.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
In an afternoon post on Truth Social, the president released a statement about the case being dropped in Georgia.
“LAW and JUSTICE have prevailed in the Great State of Georgia, as the corrupt Fani Willis Witch Hunt against me, and other Great American Patriots, has been DISMISSED in its entirety. This Illegal, Unconstitutional, and unAmerican Hoax was perpetrated against our Nation by Fani and her Low I.Q. Lover, Nathan Wade, at the direction of Crooked Joe Biden and his ‘Handlers.’ This case should have never been brought in the first place,” Trump’s post said in part.
Responding to the news as well, Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Charlie Bailey said ”The dismissal of this case is a travesty and a slap in the face to Georgia voters. Donald Trump and eighteen others, including sitting State Senator Shawn Still, were indicted by a grand jury for attempting to illegally overturn our state’s election. Multiple of their co-defendants pled guilty. This misguided decision denies the people of Georgia the accountability they deserve for Trump and his cronies’ attempt to subvert their votes and silence their voices.“
RELATED STORIES:
- Trump case in Georgia lives on; new prosecutor taking over
- Will the Georgia election interference case against Trump, others go on? We’ll find out Friday
- Judge extends deadline to find new prosecutor to take on Pres. Trump case
- GA Supreme Court may rule on Willis disqualification appeal in election interference case today
- Fani Willis, Fulton DA’s office given 30 days to pay $54K for open records act violations
- Fani Willis calls out critics’ ‘lunacy’ and ‘ignorance’ during heated speech at Marietta church
- Fulton County DA’s office asks court of appeals to dismiss appeal against DA Willis
- Trump submits request for court to hear oral arguments in Willis disqualification appeal
- Trump Georgia case put on hold until outcome of appeal against Fani Willis ruling, court says
In a longer document on the decision, Skandalakis said the case was “on life support and the decision what to do with it falls on me and me alone.”
Saying he had no emotional connection to the case, Skandalakis said the decision was not guided by a desire to advance a political agenda but by his beliefs and understanding of Georgia law.
After detailing various particulars of the case, including plea deals taken by Sidney Powell and Scott Hall, Skandalakis said he was “convinced that further prosecution is unwarranted.”
Separately, Kenneth Chesebro and Jenna Ellis took plea deals as well.
Skandalakis said that, regarding the case’s ongoing counts, “pursuing these counts against others, while the primary participants have resolved their cases favorably through negotiations with the District Attorney’s Office, would constitute an inefficient use of state resources.”
Following the news that Skandalakis was dropping the charges against the president and his co-defendants, Georgia Republican Party leader Josh McKoon and Trump attorney Steve Sadow shared statements reacting to the case’s dismissal.
“The political persecution of President Trump by disqualified DA Fani Willis is finally over. This case should never have been brought,” Sadow said. “A fair and impartial prosecutor has put an end to this lawfare.”
In similar fashion, McKoon said his “heart swells with profound relief, unyielding gratitude and a fierce sense of vindication for our brave patriots who have endured this dark chapter for far too long.”
McKoon also said Skandalakis had “done what justice demanded” by “dismissing this sham, politically weaponized criminal case against President Donald J. Trump” and his fellow defendants.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]