Trump Cleared of Mob Boss Charges Over Election Interference
A Georgia prosecutor dropped the final case Trump faced for trying to overturn the 2020 election.

Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/Fulton County Sheriff's Office
A Georgia prosecutor has officially dropped the 2020 election interference case against President Donald Trump and his allies.
The case was the last remaining one hanging over the president over his attempts to overturn the result after he lost to former President Joe Biden.
The president, along with 18 co-conspirators, was accused of a criminal enterprise in the sweeping racketeering indictment. The organized crime charge brought against him is one that has been typically used to put away major mob bosses, such as John Gotti.

President Donald Trump, pictured Nov. 25, was charged in 2023 with racketeering along with 18 co-conspirators for attempts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
Pete Marovich/Getty Images
Moments after prosecutor Peter Skandalakis submitted the court filing on Wednesday, the judge agreed to dismiss the case. It means Trump will get away without facing legal consequences for his alleged efforts to interfere in the 2020 election.
ADVERTISEMENT
Skandalakis, who took on the case himself after being unable to find another prosecutor to take it, said in his filing that the overt actions of the defendants were not acts he considered “sufficient to sustain a RICO case.”
“The strongest and most prosecutable case against those seeking to overturn the 2020 Presidential election results and prevent the certification of those votes was the one investigated and indicted by Special Counsel Jack Smith,” Skandalakis wrote.
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
It comes after the federal case against Trump for his role in the attack on January 6, 2021, and mishandling of classified documents was previously dropped by special counsel Jack Smith.
Skandalakis, the director of the nonpartisan Prosecuting Attorney’s Council of Georgia and prosecutor for 40 years, also raised in the 23-page filing the significant challenges of prosecuting the case against the sitting president.
“Given the complexity of the legal issues at hand—ranging from constitutional questions and the Supremacy Clause to immunity, jurisdiction, venue, speedy-trial concerns and access to federal records—and even assuming each of these issues were resolved in the State’s favor, bringing this case before a jury in 2029, 2030, or even 2031 would be nothing short of a remarkable feat,” he wrote.
The historic racketeering charges were filed against Trump in August 2023 by the Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis after a criminal investigation started in 2021.
It led to the infamous glowering mugshot of Trump taken at the Atlanta jail after he surrendered himself to authorities that same month.

Fulton Co. District Attorney Fani Willis was removed from the election interference case against Donald Trump.
Alex Slitz/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Willis was eventually taken off the case over the “significant appearance of impropriety” after a lengthy fight over alleged misconduct in connection with her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
The case was further thrown into jeopardy with Trump’s victory in the 2024 election.
“It is on life support and the decision what to do with it falls on me and me alone,” Skandalakis wrote of the case.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.


ADVERTISEMENT
Sign in or create an account
Login dialog
Loading comments…
ADVERTISEMENT