Hold the presses—Georgia’s legal battle over the 2020 election just got a new lifeline against President Donald Trump, and it’s a twist worth watching.
On Nov. 14, 2025, Peter J. Skandalakis, head of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, stepped in as the new prosecutor in the election interference case against President Trump, ensuring it avoids dismissal after Fulton County DA Fani Willis was disqualified, as Georgia Recorder reports.
Let’s start at the beginning of this latest chapter. Back in 2023, a Fulton County grand jury indicted President Trump and 18 others, alleging a conspiracy to reverse his narrow loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 election. The charges stemmed from actions after the vote count.
Post-election, President Trump made a now-infamous call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, pressing to unearth votes for a win. The alleged plot included fake electors, harassing poll workers in Fulton County, and breaching voting systems in Coffee County. Serious accusations, indeed.
Fast forward to last year, and the case hit turbulence. Four co-conspirators took plea deals, agreeing to testify against Trump and others who deny wrongdoing. But the real snag came with a conflict of interest tied to DA Fani Willis.
Evidence surfaced of a personal relationship between Willis and a hired special prosecutor, Nathan Wade. After intense court drama, a judge ruled one had to exit; Wade stepped down, yet Willis was later disqualified by the Georgia Court of Appeals for apparent impropriety. The state Supreme Court refused her appeal.
Enter Peter J. Skandalakis on Nov. 14, 2025. Tasked by Judge Scott McAfee to find a replacement for Willis by that deadline—or risk dismissal—Skandalakis reached out to several prosecutors who passed on the case. He ultimately took the role himself.
Skandalakis recently got 101 banker boxes of case documents plus an 8-terabyte hard drive of investigative files. He’s diving into the evidence, though time is tight. Judge McAfee has set a conference for Dec. 1, 2025, to discuss next steps.
Here’s Skandalakis on his decision: “The decision to assume responsibility for this matter was reached only after careful and deliberate consideration. While it would have been simple to allow Judge McAfee’s deadline to lapse or to inform the Court that no conflict prosecutor could be secured—thereby allowing the case to be dismissed for want of prosecution—I did not believe that to be the right course of action.”
Yet, isn’t it curious that a case so mired in procedural scandal refuses to die quietly? If integrity in prosecution matters, shouldn’t the focus shift from political theater to substantive justice?
Skandalakis isn’t new to this rodeo. He previously handled a related matter when Willis was barred from prosecuting Lt. Gov. Burt Jones over alternate elector actions in 2020. Last year, Skandalakis declined to charge Jones, citing official duties as cover.
Georgia remains the last criminal case pending against President Trump. While other legal battles—like federal election and documents cases—were dropped by special counsel Jack Smith post-2024 victory due to presidential immunity, state charges here aren’t shielded by recent pardons Trump issued.
Since reclaiming office in January 2025, other threats have faded. A New York appeals court voided a $500 million civil penalty in a fraud case, though the finding stands. Trump also contests a hush money conviction and a civil suit in New York.
Prosecution of Trump may pause during his presidency, though co-defendants could face trials sooner. David Shafer, a defendant and ex-state GOP chair, said via his attorney, “We are relieved that Mr. Skandalakis, a competent, experienced and objective professional prosecutor, will be in charge of the case and will conduct a thorough review of the evidence.”
Still, one must wonder if justice or vendetta drives this persistence. With Skandalakis at the helm, will Georgia’s case cut through bias to find truth, or just drag on as a progressive trophy hunt?
