More pertinently: “There is no realistic prospect that a sitting president will be compelled to appear in Georgia to stand trial on the allegations in this indictment.
“Donald J. Trump’s current term as President of the United States of America does not expire until January 20, 2029; by that point, eight years will have elapsed since the phone call at issue.”
Rudy Giuliani speaking to the media at a press conference held in the car park of Four Seasons Total Landscaping days after the 2020 election.Credit: Getty Images
Not only that, but a 2029 trial would be impossible. Litigating the implications of the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity for these state charges “would require months, if not years”, and it was not at all clear the state would prevail, Skandalakis wrote.
He also concluded it was not worth pursuing the case against Trump’s alleged co-conspirators, which included former lawyers Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, and former chief of staff Mark Meadows. That is despite other conspirators, such as Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell, pleading guilty to misdemeanours in a plea deal.
Skandalakis said prosecuting Trump’s advisers and attorneys without him would be “futile and unproductive”. Delivering justice in a timely manner would require the trials to commence immediately, he said, and his office lacked the resources to do so. The people of Georgia would benefit more from having those limited resources directed elsewhere.
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He also concluded the case was flawed from the start. The alleged criminal conduct – conspiring to overturn the election result in Georgia – was conceived in Washington, not in Georgia. The federal government was the right system to pursue prosecution in this case, and that attempt has now been extinguished.
Skandalakis said his decision to dismiss the case would not be universally popular, and predicted he and his family would receive threats. “Such is the state of public discourse in our country.”
It seems intuitively wrong that the extraordinary charges faced by Trump and his co-accused will never come before a jury.
But in a way, they have. That Trump believed the election was rigged – and that he pressured officials (including his own vice president) to overturn the results – was never in doubt. It was well known when voters went to the polls in November 2024 and made him president again.
There need not be a trial. The verdict is already in.
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