Trump’s Georgia Election Interference Case Finally Finds a New Prosecutor

A Georgia prosecutor has stepped in to take over the state’s election interference case against President Donald Trump after Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis was disqualified and every other prosecutor approached declined to handle it.

Pete Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, announced Friday that he will personally assume responsibility for the case, ending a weeks-long search for someone willing to lead the prosecution.

“Several prosecutors were contacted and, while all were respectful and professional, each declined the appointment,” Skandalakis, a longtime Georgia prosecutor who started his career as a Democrat before later aligning himself with the Republican Party, told the Associated Press.

“Several prosecutors were contacted and, while all were respectful and professional, each declined the appointment,” Skandalakis said. — Pete Skandalakis took on the case after a replacement for Fani Willis could not be found. Handout

With Willis pushed out for an “appearance of impropriety” stemming from her romantic relationship with her handpicked special prosecutor, Nathan Wade, the nonpartisan Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council had been left to recruit a replacement—and found no takers.

The result is a reluctant torch-passing in one of the most politically explosive criminal cases in the country. While Trump is shielded from prosecution as a sitting president, 14 remaining defendants—including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani—still face charges in the sprawling racketeering indictment Willis secured in August 2023.

Fani Willis. — Fani Willis was removed from the election interference case against Donald Trump. Alex Slitz/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Trump, meanwhile, has tried to smother the case by preemptively pardoning allies accused of backing his bid to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. Skandalakis has made clear those pardons “have no bearing” on the state charges now in his hands.

The council was forced to intervene after the Georgia Supreme Court refused to hear Willis’ appeal of her disqualification in September. That left Skandalakis with sweeping authority to honor Willis’ blueprint for prosecution, pursue only select charges, or dismiss the entire case. He acknowledged he could have simply let the deadline run out or told the court no one was available—effectively killing the case—but said that wasn’t “the right course of action.”

“The public has a legitimate interest in the outcome of this case,” he told the AP. “Accordingly, it is important that someone make an informed and transparent determination about how best to proceed.”

Skandalakis hasn’t made that determination yet. Willis’ office has handed over 101 boxes of documents and an eight-terabyte hard drive containing the full investigative file. He said he needs time to review the mountain of evidence but took the assignment so he could “complete a comprehensive review and make an informed decision regarding how best to proceed.”

Trump’s Georgia attorney, Steve Sadow, is already predicting the case will collapse under new leadership. “Fair and impartial review” will lead to dismissal, he insisted to the AP. “This politically charged prosecution has to come to an end.”

The case only reached this point after months of turmoil over Willis’ relationship with Wade, which defense attorneys argued created a financial conflict of interest.

In a remarkable February 2024 hearing, Willis and Wade testified about their relationship, insisting it began after Wade’s hiring and that they split vacation costs. Judge Scott McAfee chastised Willis for a “tremendous lapse in judgment” but initially allowed her to stay if Wade resigned. He did. The appeals courts later disagreed, ruling her removal was required due to the “appearance of impropriety.”

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