New prosecutor takes on the 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 nonpartisan Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia was tasked with replacing Willis after she was disqualified over an “appearance of impropriety” created by a romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she’d chosen to lead the case. The organization’s executive director, Pete Skandalakis, said Friday that he would take the case on himself.

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

Legal action against Trump is unlikely to proceed while he is president. However, 14 other defendants still face charges, among them former New York mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani as well as former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

Trump earlier this week announced pardons for people accused of backing his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election — including those charged in Georgia — but Skandalakis has said that has no bearing on these state charges.

How Skandalakis ended up with the case

After the Georgia Supreme Court in September declined to hear Willis’ appeal of her disqualification, it fell to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council to find a new prosecutor. Skandalakis can continue to follow Willis’ vision for the prosecution, decide to pursue only some charges or dismiss the case altogether.

He said he could have let the deadline pass or told the court no prosecutor was available, which would have led to the case’s dismissal, but he decided that wasn’t “the right course of action.”

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

Skandalakis said Willis’ office delivered 101 boxes of documents on Oct. 29 and an eight-terabyte hard drive with the full investigative file on Nov. 6. Although he hasn’t completed his review, he took on the case so he can finish assessing it and decide what to do next.

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

“This politically charged prosecution has to come to an end,” he said in an email.

Allyn Stockton, an attorney for Giuliani, called Skandalakis’ decision an “interesting twist,” but added, “everything I know about Mr. Skandalakis is that he is a fair minded and honorable man who is void of any political agenda.”

A spokesperson for Willis declined to comment, deferring to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council.

Skandalakis, who has led the small, nonpartisan council since 2018, said in his filing that he will get no extra pay for the case, with Fulton County reimbursing expenses. He previously spent about 25 years as the elected Republican district attorney for the Coweta Judicial Circuit, southwest of Atlanta.

How the case unraveled for Willis

Willis announced the sprawling indictment against Trump and 18 others in August 2023, using the state’s anti-racketeering law to allege a wide-ranging conspiracy to illegally overturn Trump’s narrow loss to Democrat Joe Biden in Georgia.

Defense attorneys sought Willis’ removal after one revealed in January 2024 that Willis had a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she had hired to lead the case. The defense attorneys alleged a conflict of interest and said Willis profited from the case when Wade used his earnings to pay for vacations the pair took.

During an extraordinary hearing the next month, Willis and Wade testified about their relationship’s intimate details, saying the romance didn’t begin until after Wade was hired and that they split the costs for vacations and other outings.

Judge Scott McAfee rebuked Willis for a “tremendous lapse in judgment” but found no disqualifying conflict of interest, ruling she could stay on the case if Wade resigned, which he did hours later.

Defense attorneys appealed, and the Georgia Court of Appeals removed Willis from the case in December 2024, citing an “appearance of impropriety.” The state Supreme Court declined to hear Willis’ appeal.

Skandalakis’ earlier role in the case against Trump

This is not the first time Skandalakis has been involved in this case. Even before Willis obtained an indictment, a judge barred her from seeking criminal charges against Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, one of 16 state Republicans who signed a certificate that Trump had won Georgia and declaring themselves the state’s “duly elected and qualified” electors.

A state senator in the wake of the election, Jones also sought a special legislative session to overturn Biden’s win.

As Willis investigated, Jones argued she had a conflict of interest because she hosted a fundraiser for his Democratic opponent in the lieutenant governor’s race. Judge Robert McBurney ruled in July 2022 that Willis’ actions created an “actual and untenable” conflict of interest.

Skandalakis appointed himself to handle that issue as well and ultimately chose not to pursue charges against Jones.

Kate Brumback, The Associated Press