The long running case accusing Donald Trump and his associates of attempting to rig the 2020 election was closed by a US judge on Wednesday, ending the last criminal prosecution that was still looming over the president's comeback.The decision came after prosecutor Pete Skandalakis made a strong case for Judge Scott McAfee to dismiss the Georgia case, claiming it should have been handled by the federal government rather than state courts. That ended the last judicial battleground in the protracted dispute over Trump's actions after the election.
"LAW and JUSTICE have prevailed in the Great State of Georgia," Trump wrote on Truth Social in celebration of the decision.
Even though a number of codefendants were found guilty, he referred to the case as a "Illegal, Unconstitutional, and unAmerican Hoax" and stated that it should have "never been brought" in a long statement that reiterated his bogus allegations that the election was rigged.
Following his first term in office, the Republican president was charged with numerous federal offences, including conspiring to rig the 2020 election and allegedly hoarding confidential information that the government claimed shouldn't have been taken out of the White House.
Following his first term in office, the Republican president was charged with numerous federal offences, including conspiring to rig the 2020 election and allegedly hoarding confidential information that the government claimed shouldn't have been taken out of the White House.
After Trump was elected, Special Counsel Jack Smith abandoned both charges, citing the Justice Department's policy against indicting or prosecuting a sitting president.
"Indeed, if Special Counsel Jack Smith, with all the resources of the federal government at his disposal concluded that prosecution would be fruitless, then I too find that, despite the available evidence, pursuing the prosecution of all those involved in State of Georgia v. Donald Trump, et al. on essentially federal grounds would be equally unproductive," Skandalakis stated in his filing.
Additionally, he emphasized that it is practically impossible to prosecute a sitting president in Georgia and that the trial would not be feasible for the other 14 defendants without Trump. The motion to dismiss the lawsuit was promptly granted by McAfee.
Additionally, he emphasized that it is practically impossible to prosecute a sitting president in Georgia and that the trial would not be feasible for the other 14 defendants without Trump. The motion to dismiss the lawsuit was promptly granted by McAfee.
In 2023, Trump and eighteen codefendants were accused of racketeering and other felonies in Georgia due to their purported attempts to tamper with the outcome of the southern state's 2020 presidential election.
The indictment claimed that attempts were made to coerce election workers, install fake Trump electors, and convince state authorities to "find" ballots to undo Trump's close defeat to Joe Biden.
Lesser accusations were later conceded by four of those charged. Due to her friendship with the man she had hired as a special prosecutor, Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis was disqualified from the case by a Georgia appeals court in December.
Trump has pardoned a number of associates who were charged with trying to rig the 2020 election; however, the pardons only cover federal violations, not state offenses like those in Georgia.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows, who were both charged in Georgia, were among those granted mercy.
Continuing the Georgia case "in full for another five to ten years" would not benefit the state's voters, according to Skandalakis, who claimed that the length of time required, along with unresolved issues like presidential immunity and federal versus state jurisdiction, meant the case was essentially "on life support."
Continuing the Georgia case "in full for another five to ten years" would not benefit the state's voters, according to Skandalakis, who claimed that the length of time required, along with unresolved issues like presidential immunity and federal versus state jurisdiction, meant the case was essentially "on life support."
"As a former elected official who ran as both a Democrat and a Republican this decision is not guided by a desire to advance an agenda but is based on my beliefs and understanding of the law," stated the politician.
After Georgia's appeals court determined that Willis's romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade had given rise to a "appearance of impropriety," Willis was dismissed from the case.
In August 2023, she filed an indictment against Trump and his associates under Georgia's racketeering statutes. Trump's attorneys argued that his remarks on the election were First Amendment protected political speech.
