Left: FILE – Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis poses for a portrait, April 19, 2023, in Atlanta (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File). Right: Former President Donald Trump arrives at the Moms for Liberty meeting in Philadelphia, Friday, June 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis implored for a bold individual to address the turmoil following her removal from the 2020 election RICO case involving former President Donald Trump and his associates. Despite her plea, the outcome might not align with her expectations, as a new prosecutor stepped in just in time.
In the final hours before the deadline set by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, Peter Skandalakis, the Executive Director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, appointed himself as the interim District Attorney. Judge McAfee had mandated that the state assign a new prosecutor by noon on Friday.
Anna Bower from Lawfare quickly shared Skandalakis’ announcement, highlighting that numerous prosecutors were reluctant to engage with the contentious RICO case against Trump and recent federal pardon recipients, including figures like Mike Roman, David Shafer, Robert Cheeley, and Rudy Giuliani, among others.
Skandalakis expressed, “The decision to appoint myself comes after an exhaustive search for a conflict prosecutor willing to take on this case. Despite contacting several prosecutors who were courteous and professional, all declined the opportunity.” He emphasized their privacy and professional decision-making by not naming those who refused.
Ultimately, Skandalakis decided to step in himself, after thoroughly considering the implications. He determined it would have been inappropriate to let the deadline expire without action or inform Judge McAfee that no suitable prosecutor could be found.
Failing to appoint a prosecutor would have led to the case’s dismissal due to “want of prosecution,” Skandalakis remarked.
Does this mean that the case will move forward? Skandalakis’ own words and past actions suggest that is no given — a far cry from the act of “courage” and “justice” Willis, a Democrat, called for on Thursday in a WSB-TV interview.
According to the Georgia Recorder, Skandalakis additionally said that he intends to undertake and “complete a comprehensive review and make an informed decision regarding how best to proceed.”
Notably, Skandalakis made news just over a year ago when, in a special prosecutor capacity, he declined to bring fake elector charges against Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a Republican, following a “review of the evidence.”
In a comment to Law&Crime, lead Trump defense attorney Steve Sadow expressed confidence that dismissal is on the horizon for his client.
Celebrating the “end” of Willis’ “politically charged prosecution,” Sadow said, “we remain confident that a fair and impartial review will lead to a dismissal of the case against President Trump.”
Willis’ fate was sealed in September, when the Georgia Supreme Court declined to review and reverse her disqualification from the case.
In December 2024, the Georgia Court of Appeals had ruled in a 2-1 decision that Judge McAfee made a mistake when he gave Willis and her handpicked special prosecutor Nathan Wade, with whom she had a romantic relationship, an ultimatum that one or the other had to go due to a “significant appearance of impropriety.”
Rather, the appeals court said, McAfee “erred by failing to disqualify DA Willis and her office” because this was a “rare case” where the “significant appearance of impropriety” alone meant Willis and her office should be “wholly disqualified.”
