Judge Dismisses Georgia RICO Case Against Trump

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee dismissed the sweeping racketeering case against President Donald Trump and several of his allies, which accused them of attempting to overturn the 2020 election result in Georgia, on Wednesday after the new prosecutor on the case requested the charges be dropped.

McAfee granted the request to dismiss shortly after Peter Skandalakis, director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, requested the case be dropped “to serve the interests of justice and promote judicial finality.”

Skandalakis appointed himself to take over the case earlier this month after no other prosecutor agreed to take it over when Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified from the case.

Skandalakis explained in his filing to the state court Wednesday that there would be significant logistical and timing difficulties if he attempted to move forward with the case, and he notably also argued “the overarching theory of this case is not a viable basis for prosecution.”

Willis indicted Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, and more than a dozen other Trump allies in August 2023 over their alleged plot to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.

Four of the 18 defendants took plea deals, while the 14 others still had charges against them prior to McAfee’s Wednesday order dismissing the case.

The highly publicized case, which led to Trump becoming the first former president to have a mug shot taken, faced problems early on, particularly when defense attorneys surfaced Willis’s romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, which ultimately derailed the entire case.

The revelation led to McAfee ruling in March 2024 that either Wade or Willis would have to leave the prosecution in order for it to continue, abd the Georgia Court of Appeals later ruled on appeal in December 2024 that Willis and her office would be disqualified from prosecuting the case.

The Georgia Supreme Court denied Willis’s bid to be allowed back on the case, leading Skandalakis to unsuccessfully attempt to find a new prosecutor.

The long-doomed Fulton County case against the president was the last criminal case lingering for Trump after the federal indictments against him for allegations of attempting to overturn the 2020 election and mishandling classified documents were dismissed before reaching a trial.

Both of the federal prosecutions of Trump were ended shortly after he won the presidential election.

“The political persecution of President Trump by disqualified DA Fani Willis is finally over,” Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead defense attorney, said in a statement Wednesday.

“This case should never have been brought. A fair and impartial prosecutor has put an end to this lawfare.”