A brand new prosecutor has been chosen to take over the Fulton County, Georgia, election interference case towards President Donald Trump and others after District Legal professional Fani Willis’ disqualification.
In an announcement on Friday, the director of the company tasked with finding the replacement stated he had chosen somebody new: himself.
Pete Skandalakis, the manager director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, stated he selected himself to take over the case after he was “unable” to search out another person to just accept the job.
“A number of prosecutors had been contacted and, whereas all had been respectful {and professional}, every declined the appointment,” he stated in an announcement. “The choice to imagine accountability for this matter was reached solely after cautious and deliberate consideration.”
Trump and 18 others pleaded not guilty in August 2023 to all prices in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the outcomes of the 2020 presidential election within the state of Georgia.
The fees, which had been introduced following Trump’s Jan. 2, 2021, cellphone name by which he requested Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” the votes wanted to win the state, allege that the defendants solicited state leaders all through the nation, harassed and misled a Georgia election employee, and pushed phony claims that the election was stolen, all in an effort for Trump to stay in energy regardless of his election loss.
The number of a brand new prosecutor fell to the attorneys’ council after the Georgia Supreme Courtroom in September declined to take up Willis’ enchantment of her removing from the case over her relationship with one of many prosecutors on the case.
President Donald Trump speaks throughout a gathering with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban within the Cupboard Room of the White Home, Nov. 7, 2025, in Washington.
Evan Vucci/AP
Skandalakis was dealing with a Nov. 14 deadline to nominate somebody new or the case would face dismissal, in response to an order from Fulton County Decide Scott McAfee. Skandalakis stated he didn’t consider McAfee dismissing the case due to the missed deadline can be “the precise plan of action.”
In an announcement, Trump’s legal professional within the case, Steve Sadow, stated, “This politically charged prosecution has to return to an finish. We stay assured {that a} honest and neutral evaluate will result in a dismissal of the case towards President Trump.”
Skandalakis wrote in his assertion that he had “not had enough time” to finish a evaluate the case file, saying he obtained 101 bins of paperwork from the DA’s workplace in late October, and an 8-terabyte onerous drive of the case file simply final week. He stated that by appointing himself to the case he can “full a complete evaluate and make an knowledgeable choice relating to how greatest to proceed” with the case, whose future remains to be up the air.
“My solely goal is to make sure that this case is dealt with correctly, pretty, and with full transparency discharging my duties with out worry, favor, or affection,” Skandalakis stated.
Trump this week issued a sweeping pardon to all defendants within the Georgia election case and all different instances involving alleged 2020 “faux elector” plots, though the act was largely symbolic as Trump doesn’t have the flexibility to pardon state prices.
Final yr, Skandalakis took over the investigation into one of many defendants within the case, Burt Jones, after Willis was initially disqualified from investigating him. Skandalakis investigated accusations that Jones had acted as a “faux elector” for Trump, earlier than deciding to not convey felony prices towards him as a result of Jones, in his dedication, “didn’t act with felony intent.”
