ALBAWABA- Georgia’s special prosecutor on Wednesday dismissed the sweeping racketeering case against President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants, bringing an abrupt end to the state’s most high-profile probe into alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Special Prosecutor Pete Skandalakis, appointed after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified in December 2024 over a conflict-of-interest ruling, said in a brief court filing that the case lacked sufficient evidence and carried “serious prosecutorial conflicts.” All 41 felony counts, including the RICO charge and conspiracy allegations tied to Trump’s January 2021 call urging officials to “find 11,780 votes”, were dismissed.
The indictment, unveiled in August 2023, accused Trump and allies such as Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, and several Georgia GOP activists of coordinating a pressure campaign targeting legislators and election workers after Joe Biden’s narrow victory in the state.
The case had been stalled for more than a year amid appeals and procedural challenges, including a June 2024 pause that effectively halted progress.
Trump celebrated the dismissal, calling it “total vindication,” while critics warned the decision reinforced concerns over political influence in state-level accountability.
Skandalakis’s move comes just days after federal Special Counsel Jack Smith dropped parallel election-subversion counts at the national level, clearing Trump’s immediate legal calendar as he advances his policy agenda.
Georgia Democrats demanded legislative hearings into the collapse of the prosecution, warning that it deepens mistrust in the justice system.
The dismissal marks a dramatic unraveling of a case once seen as a defining legal test of post-2020 election conduct. It highlights the mounting political and institutional pressures shaping election-related prosecutions in the United States.
