A judge dismissed the Georgia state criminal election fraud case against President Donald Trump and his co-defendants Nov. 26 at the request of a prosecutor.

Peter Skandalakis, the executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia, said in a motion filed in the Fulton County Superior Court that he believes declining to prosecute the case any further would best "serve the interests of justice and promote judicial finality" in the case.

The decision comes after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, whose office brought charges against Trump and several other co-defendants, was disqualified from the case as a result of a romantic relationship she had with another prosecutor.

Trump celebrated the development on social media while repeating the false claim that he won the 2020 presidential election.

"The few remaining Democrat Witch Hunts will soon meet the same embarrassing end. We are going to keep winning, and continue to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Trump posted.

“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," said Steve Sadow, a lawyer for Trump, in a statement.

Willis' office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case alleged that Trump and others participated in a conspiracy to overturn former President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory, including by replacing the presidential electors for Georgia with Trump supporters.

Skandalakis said he appointed himself to handle the case after he was unable, as head of the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia, to secure another prosecutor to take on the case after Willis was disqualified.

Prosecutor: 'No realistic prospect' for Trump to stand trial soon

Skandalakis, in his motion, didn't downplay the seriousness of some of the allegations in the case. If proven, he said, they would establish a conspiracy "to overturn the results of the November 2020 Presidential Election in Georgia, and in other states across the country."

But he said there is "no realistic prospect" that a sitting president would be compelled to stand trial in Georgia, meaning any case against Trump couldn't be revamped until at least 2029 – about eight years after the underlying alleged actions took place.

Skandalakis added that he thought the strongest case against those who sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election was the federal case that was brought by former special counsel Jack Smith against Trump. He said the criminal conduct alleged in the Georgia case was "conceived in Washington, D.C., not the State of Georgia."

Smith dropped the federal case after Trump won the 2024 election, citing a Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.

Skandalakis also dismissed the idea of taking co-defendants of Trump to trial on their own, writing that Trump was the lead defendant and, as the presidential candidate and later the sitting president, "bears the responsibility for any conspiracy, if it were proved at trial."

"In my professional judgment, the citizens of Georgia are not served by pursuing this case in full for another five to ten years," Skandalakis wrote.

Giuliani celebrates dropped case, despite unflattering words from prosecutor

The development is a major victory for Trump's co-defendants, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. A spokesperson for Giuliani, Ted Goodman, said in a statement the development "is long overdue and represents a complete repudiation of the demonstrably false claims that partisan actors used to justify his improper disbarment."

Giuliani was disbarred in Washington, DC, and New York after courts concluded he baselessly attacked the validity of the 2020 presidential election results.

Although Skandalakis advised against criminally prosecuting Giuliani in Fulton County, his judgment of the former mayor wasn't flattering.

Skandalakis wrote that Giuliani victimized a "genuinely sympathetic figure," election worker Ruby Freeman, by falsely accusing her of voter fraud, which spurred "harassment and threats" against her. However, Skandalakis said alleged crimes against Freeman needed to be prosecuted in a separate county, which would be a decision for a different prosecutor.

In civil legal proceedings, Giuliani settled with Freeman and her daughter after a federal grand jury ordered him to pay them $148 million in damages for defamation and intentionally inflicting emotional distress.

Skandalakis also wrote that Giuliani made "wrong and baseless" claims to Georgia legislators as part of the alleged scheme to overturn the election. But he noted Giuliani hadn't sworn an oath to tell the truth.

Contributing: Josh Meyer – USA TODAY.

This story has been updated with additional information.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Charges dropped against Trump in Georgia election interference case

Reporting by Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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