New prosecutor to take charge of Georgia election case against Trump and others

ATLANTA (AP) — A longtime prosecutor announced he will take over the Georgia election interference case against President Donald Trump and others after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was removed from the case and no one else wanted the job.

The Georgia Prosecutors Council, a nonpartisan organization, was tasked with finding someone to lead the case after Willis was disqualified for an “appearance of impropriety” created by a romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she had chosen to lead it. The organization’s executive director, Pete Skandalakis, said Friday that he would take on the case himself.

“Several prosecutors were contacted and, while all were respectful and professional, each declined the appointment,” Skandalakis said in an emailed statement.

While it is unlikely that any action could be taken against Trump while he is sitting president, there are 14 other people still facing charges in the case, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former New York mayor and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

Trump earlier this week announced pardons for people accused of supporting his efforts to overturn the results of that election, including those charged in Georgia, but Skandalakis has said that is unrelated to these state charges.

After the Georgia Supreme Court refused to hear Willis’ appeal of his disqualification in September, it was up to the Prosecutor’s Council to find a new prosecutor. Skandalakis can continue to follow Willis’ vision for the prosecution, decide to file only a few charges or dismiss the case entirely.

Although Skandalakis said he could have let the deadline pass or told the court that no prosecutor was available, which would have resulted in the case being dismissed, he did not believe that was “the correct course of action.”

“The public has a legitimate interest in the outcome of this case,” he wrote. “Accordingly, it is important that someone makes an informed and transparent decision about the best way to proceed.”

Skandalakis said Willis’ office brought him 101 boxes of documents related to the investigation on Oct. 29 and an eight-terabyte hard drive containing the entire investigation file on Nov. 6. He said he had not had time to complete his review of the case, but decided to take it himself so he could “complete a comprehensive review and make an informed decision on the best way to proceed.”

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Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead lawyer in Georgia, said he is confident that a “fair and impartial review” will lead to the dismissal of the case against his client.

“This politically charged process must come to an end,” he said in an email.

The News sent a text message seeking comment to a Willis spokesman.

Willis announced the sprawling indictment against Trump and 18 others in August 2023. He used the state’s racketeering law to allege a wide-ranging conspiracy to try to illegally overturn Trump’s narrow loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

Defense attorneys sought Willis’ dismissal after one of them revealed in January 2024 that Willis had been in a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor he had hired to lead the case. Defense attorneys said the relationship created a conflict of interest, alleging that Willis personally benefited from the case when Wade used his winnings to pay for vacations the couple took.

During an extraordinary hearing the following month, Willis and Wade testified about the intimate details of their personal relationship. They maintained that their romance did not begin until after Wade was hired and said they split the costs of vacations and other outings.

The trial judge, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, reprimanded Willis and said in a March 2024 order that his actions showed a “tremendous error in judgment.” But he said he found no conflict of interest that would disqualify Willis. He ultimately ruled that Willis could remain on the case if Wade resigned, which the special prosecutor did hours later.