President Donald Trump returns to the White House aboard Marine One in Washington, DC, on November 22, 2025.
Alison Robert | Alison Robert Washington Post | Getty Images
A Georgia judge on Wednesday dismissed a landmark extortion lawsuit against President Donald Trump seeking to overturn his loss in the state’s 2020 election.
The ruling by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, ordering “the dismissal of the entire case,” brings the final criminal case against Trump, which remained unresolved even after he recaptured the White House in 2024, to a close.
McAfee’s ruling came shortly after State Attorney Peter Skandalakis moved to dismiss the case against Trump and his remaining co-defendants “in the interest of justice and to promote judicial finality.”
Fulton County Sheriff’s Office
“Disqualified (Fulton County District Attorney) Fannie Willis’ political persecution of President Trump is finally over,” Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead attorney in the case, said in a statement to CNBC.
“This case should never have been brought. A fair and impartial prosecutor brought this case to an end,” Sadow said.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Willis’ lawsuit originally charged Trump with 13 criminal charges, including a felony count of violating Georgia’s strong anti-extortion law.
The indictment, returned by a grand jury in August 2023, alleges that Trump and numerous co-defendants illegally sought to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential victory in the state.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis watches a hearing in the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump case at the Fulton County Courthouse on March 1, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Alex Slits Pool | Getty Images News | Getty Images
That effort includes pressuring Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to help Trump win enough votes to overcome his lead with Biden.
The case was once seen as one of the biggest threats to Republican leadership, which was already grappling with a torrent of other criminal charges and civil lawsuits.
It also produced one of the most striking images in recent U.S. political history: the mugshot of a president forced to be transferred to the Fulton County Jail to face state charges.
But the case ran into major problems long before it was effectively frozen by President Trump’s re-election in 2024.
In September 2024, McAfee dropped two of the criminal charges against Trump and some of his co-defendants, but left the main charges in place.
By then, the embattled prosecutor, Willis, was under intense scrutiny over her romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, one of the top criminal prosecutors. She defended herself against the fraud allegations with dramatic court testimony, but was ultimately disbarred from the case in December 2024.
The Georgia Supreme Court declined to hear Willis’ appeal. The case was finally handed over to Mr. Skandalakis on Nov. 14, less than two weeks before Mr. Skandalakis asked Mr. McAfee to dismiss the case.
This is breaking news. Please refresh to check for updates.
