Topline
A new prosecutor has been appointed to take over the Georgia criminal case against President Donald Trump and his allies, replacing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, potentially allowing the only remaining criminal case against the president to move forward toward a trial—though it still remains to be seen how it will proceed.
President Donald Trump appears at an event in the Oval Office at the White House on November 6
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Key Facts
Peter Skandalakis, the executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia—who was tasked with installing a new prosecutor to oversee the case—announced Friday he was appointing himself to take over from Willis.
Willis initially brought the case against Trump and his allies for trying to overturn the 2020 election, but was disqualified from the prosecution due to her romantic relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade, which means a new prosecutor had to be appointed for the case to move forward.
Skandalakis faced a Friday deadline to appoint a new prosecutor and said he named himself after “several” other prosecutors turned down the job, writing in a statement that his appointment “reflects my inability to secure another conflict prosecutor to assume responsibility for this case.”
It will now be up to Skandalakis to determine how the criminal case moves forward—and whether it does at all, or if the charges should be dropped.
If the case does move forward, it’s all but certain Trump would not go to trial before he leaves office in 2029, but prosecutions could move forward against the president’s other allies who face charges in the case, including attorney Rudy Giuliani and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
Trump’s defense counsel in the case, Steve Sadow, said Friday the “politically charged prosecution” against the president “has to come to an end,” adding the president’s legal team “remain[s] confident that a fair and impartial review will lead to a dismissal of the case against President Trump.”
Crucial Quote
“The public has a legitimate interest in this case,” Skandalakis wrote in a statement announcing his appointment Friday, noting he did not simply want to have the case dismissed because a new prosecutor couldn’t be found. “Accordingly, it is important that someone make an informed and transparent determination about how best to proceed.”