Georgia Judge Dismisses 39-Count Election Case Against Trump

Overview

• Judge Scott McAfee approved prosecutor Peter Skandalakis’s request to drop all charges against President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants.
• Skandalakis, who leads the Georgia Council of District Attorneys, took over after Fani Willis was disqualified over an ethics controversy involving special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
• He concluded there was no realistic way to compel a sitting president to appear for trial, calling further prosecution futile and unproductive.
• The case grew out of a 2021 recording of Trump urging Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, to “find 11,780 votes,” and included racketeering allegations.
• This decision removes one of Trump’s criminal matters as his New York hush-money conviction remains on appeal, and four Georgia co-defendants had previously pleaded guilty to lesser charges.