New prosecutor chosen to replace Fani Willis in Georgia’s Trump election interference case
The leader of the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia says that he will step in to replace Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in the Georgia election interference case against President Trump and others.
PAC Executive Director Peter J. Skandalakis made the announcement on Friday, which was the deadline set by the judge overseeing the case to find Willis’s replacement.
In his announcement, Skandalakis said that he will take up the case after his organization was unable to find another prosecutor by Friday.
“Several prosecutors were contacted and, while all were respectful and professional, each declined the appointment,” he wrote. “Out of respect for their privacy and professional discretion, I will not identify those prosecutors or disclose.”
Skandalakis said that he chose to lead the prosecution due to his familiarity with some of the immense case file, which he described as more than 100 banker boxes of documents and an 8-terabyte hard drive. Though he attempted to examine the evidence and interviews in the time the judge allotted him, he said he was not able to complete a full review.
“With Judge McAfee’s deadline now upon us and my review still ongoing, I have determined that the best course of action is to appoint myself to the case,” Skandalakis wrote. “This will allow me to complete a comprehensive review and make an informed decision regarding how best to proceed.”
With Skandalakis as the prosecutor, he now has the choice whether to continue the path Willis had taken, pursue only some charges, or dismiss the case entirely.
While it is unlikely that any action against Mr. Trump could proceed while he is the 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 attorney Rudy Giuliani.
In a statement to CBS News, attorney Steve Sadow, who is representing Mr. Trump in the case, said that the “politically charged prosecution has come to an end.”
“We remain confident that a fair and impartial review will lead to a dismissal of the case against President Trump,” Sadow said.
How Georgia’s Trump election case began
Willis announced the indictment against Trump and 18 others in August 2023, using Georgia’s anti-racketeering law to accuse them of participating in a scheme to overturn Trump’s narrow 2020 election loss to Joe Biden in Georgia.
The alleged plot included Trump’s call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, urging him to “find” enough votes to reverse the outcome. Four defendants: attorneys Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro, and bail bondsman Scott Hall have pleaded guilty.
Alex Slitz / Getty Images
Willis was disqualified from prosecuting the case after revelations that she had a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired to lead the investigation.
Defense attorneys alleged that Willis and Wade benefited from their relationship, saying Wade used his earnings from the case to pay for trips they took together. Willis and Wade acknowledged the relationship but said it began after he was hired.
In March 2024, Judge McAfee rebuked Willis for a “tremendous lapse in judgment” but said there was no conflict of interest that would disqualify her. He ruled she could stay on the case if Wade resigned, which he did hours later.
The defense attorneys appealed, and in December, the Georgia Court of Appeals removed Willis from the case, citing an “appearance of impropriety.” The state’s high court declined to hear Willis’ appeal in September, placing the case in the hands of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council.
While Trump announced pardons for people accused of backing his efforts to overturn the results of that election earlier this week — including those charged in Georgia — that doesn’t affect state charges.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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