ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — The special prosecutor assigned to determine the fate of President Donald Trump’s historic Georgia indictment has decided not to pursue the case any further.

On Wednesday, Pete Skandalakis, executive director of The Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, filed a motion in Fulton County Superior Court, requesting the charges brought against Trump and his GOP allies be dropped.

Skandalakis filed a motion known as Nolle prosequi, which is a Latin term meaning “to be unwilling to prosecute.” The motion is a formal entry by a prosecutor to drop or dismiss criminal charges against a defendant.

Shortly after Skandalakis’ motion was filed, Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing the case, granted the motion, dismissing the case in its entirety.

Skandalakis took over the case’s prosecution after Fulton County DA Fani Willis was disqualified over an “appearance of impropriety” caused by a romantic relationship she had with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

“The political persecution of President Trump by disqualified DA Fani Willis is finally over,” Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead Georgia attorney said. “This case should never have been brought. A fair and impartial prosecutor has put an end to this lawfare.”

Willis had brought the indictments against Trump and 18 GOP allies, whom she charged with attempting to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results — an election that saw Joe Biden become the first Democrat to win any deep Southern state in a presidential election since Bill Clinton’s victory in 1992.

Willis was attempting to use Georgia’s anti-racketeering law to allege a wide-ranging conspiracy among Trump, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and more to try to illegally overturn Trump’s narrow loss to Biden.

“The decision to dismiss all criminal charges against Mayor Rudy Giuliani is long overdue and represents a complete repudiation of the demonstrably false claims that partisan actors used to justify his improper disbarment,” said Giuliani spokesman Ted Goodman. “The integrity of our justice system cannot be fully restored until Mayor Giuliani’s law license is reinstated and the hundreds of other victims of political weaponization against President Trump and his supporters receive the justice they deserve.”

In January 2024, defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant, representing co-defendant Mike Roman, successfully sought Willis’ removal after the revelation that she had engaged in a romantic relationship with Wade. Attorneys said the relationship created a conflict of interest, alleging that Willis personally profited from the case when Wade used his earnings to pay for vacations the pair took.

“All we ever wanted was for a neutral prosecutor to evaluate this case without any political or personal motivation,” Merchant said after the charges were dismissed. “We believed in Mr. Roman’s innocence from the first day and knew if someone who was unbiased took the case they would agree that this case should never have been brought into our court system.

“The entire world has been watching this case and I am glad that we finally have a resolution that shows the world that the American system of justice can be fair and do the right thing,” Merchant said. “We are very appreciate of the prosecuting attorneys council for doing the right thing even if it was not the easy thing to do.”

In a March 2024 order, McAfee rebuked Willis, saying the DA’s actions showed a “tremendous lapse in judgment.” But he said he did not find a 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.

Defense attorneys appealed that ruling, and the Georgia Court of Appeals removed Willis from the case in December, citing an “appearance of impropriety.” The high court has since declined to hear Willis’ appeal, putting the case in the lap of Skandalakis and the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council.

Skandalakis said he has appointed himself because of “my inability to secure another conflict prosecutor to assume responsibility for this case.”

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On Nov. 10, 2025, Trump himself pardoned the alternate electors who were allegedly involved in plans to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, including all of the defendants charged by Willis.

McAfee had already dismissed several charges issued by Willis related to the filing of false documents.

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