Trump election interference racketeering case in Georgia dismissed

A judge in Georgia on Wednesday dismissed the historic racketeering case brought against President Donald Trump over his efforts to overturn his loss in the state’s 2020 election.

The ruling by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who ordered the case “dismissed in its entirety,” draws to a close the final criminal case against Trump that remained unresolved after he won back the White House in 2024.

McAfee’s ruling came shortly after state prosecutor Peter Skandalakis moved to drop the case against Trump and his remaining co-defendants “to serve the interests of justice and promote judicial finality.”

Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead attorney in the case, said in a statement to CNBC, “The political persecution of President Trump by disqualified DA Fani Willis is finally over.”

“This case should never have been brought. A fair and impartial prosecutor has put an end to this lawfare,” Sadow said.

The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

The case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis initially charged Trump with 13 criminal counts, including the serious charge of violating the state’s powerful RICO statute.

The indictment, returned by a grand jury in August 2023, alleged that Trump and numerous co-defendants illegally tried to reverse Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia’s 2020 presidential contest.

Those efforts including pressuring Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, to find Trump enough votes for him to overcome his margin of loss to Biden.

The case was once seen as one of the biggest threats to the GOP leader, who was already grappling with a torrent of other criminal indictments and civil lawsuits.

It also produced one of the most striking images in recent U.S. political history: a mugshot of the president, who was forced to travel to Fulton County jail to get booked on the state charges.

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