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Georgia prosecutor drops election interference case against Trump – UPI.com

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Georgia prosecutor drops election interference case against Trump – UPI.com


Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger testifies in 2022 before a U.S. House of Representatives committee on the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol. On Wednesday, a Georgia prosecutor dropped all charges against President Donald Trump and others accused of election interference based on a call that Trump made to Raffensperger. File Photo by Tasos Katopodis/UPI | License Photo

Nov. 26 (UPI) — The prosecutor in the Georgia election interference case against President Donald Trump dropped the charges on Wednesday.

Pete Skandalakis, executive director of Georgia’s Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council, who took over the case when Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis was disqualified, filed a motion Wednesday saying that he’s dropping the case “to serve the interests of justice and promote judicial finality”

“[The case] is on life support and the decision what to do with it falls on me and me alone. But unlike family members who must make the emotional decision to withdraw loved ones from life-sustaining treatment, I have no emotional connection to this case. As a former elected official who ran as both a Democrat and a Republican and now is the Executive Director of a non-partisan agency, this decision is not guided by a desire to advance an agenda but is based on my beliefs and understanding of the law,” he wrote.

Trump and 18 others pleaded not guilty in August 2023 to a racketeering indictment in their alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Willis brought the charges after a phone call from Trump to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger asking him to “find” the votes needed to give the state’s electoral votes to Trump.

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Skandalakis addressed the call to Raffensperger in his motion.

“While the call is concerning, reasonable minds could differ as to how to interpret the call. One interpretation is that President Donald J. Trump, without explicitly stating it, is instructing the Secretary of State to fictitiously or fraudulently produce enough votes to secure a victory in Georgia. An alternative interpretation is that President Donald J. Trump, genuinely believing fraud had occurred, is asking the Secretary of State to investigate and determine whether sufficient irregularities exist to change the election outcome. When multiple interpretations are equally plausible, the accused is entitled to the benefit of the doubt and should not be presumed to have acted criminally.”

Willis was eventually disqualified because of a romantic relationship with a special prosecutor on the case. After she was disqualified, Skandalakis was tasked with finding another prosecutor to handle the case. When none was found, on Nov. 14 he took on the case himself.

Some defendants in the case — Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro and Scott Hall — took plea deals after agreeing to testify. Trump later gave them all federal pardons.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One on Tuesday. Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo
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DHS appears to axe plan to construct immigration detention megacenter in small Georgia town

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DHS appears to axe plan to construct immigration detention megacenter in small Georgia town


After months of tension between the city of Social Circle and the federal government, the city announced in a press release Thursday that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will abandon its plan to convert an industrial warehouse into a 10,000-bed immigration detention center in the rural community.  The department’s apparent decision to discontinue the […]



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Proposed Georgia bill restricts voting to U.S. citizens

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Proposed Georgia bill restricts voting to U.S. citizens


GEORGIA, Ga. (WALB) — A new bill introduced to the Georgia Senate could create a constitutional amendment to restrict voting to legal U.S. citizens.

The bill, Senate Resolution 4EX says, “No person who is not a citizen of the United States shall be entitled to vote at any election by the people.”

If passed, Georgians will vote on the constitutional amendment in the November election.

Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger said “I have been calling on the legislature for years to pass this amendment to the state constitution. I am glad to see the legislature finally act to ensure only American citizens are voting in our elections.”

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According to Raffensperger, Georgia was the first state in the nation to conduct citizen verification of voter rolls. Since 2022, Raffensperger’s office conducted two citizenship audits of Georgia’s voter rolls.

SR 4EX Text

“Casting a vote is one of the most important elements of American citizenship. Any illegal vote dilutes the value of a citizen’s lawfully cast ballot. U.S. Citizens should decide Georgia elections. Period. I urge the legislature to pass this important legislation.”

The state uses information from the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) to identify people who are non-citizens. This data is based on documents provided to DDS, through its REAL ID drivers licenses or state identification cards.

That information is also ran through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to verify an individual’s citizenship status.

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook, Instagram and X. For more South Georgia news, download the WALB News app and add WALB as a preferred source on Google.

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Copyright 2026 WALB. All rights reserved.





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Social media reacts to Oklahoma’s dominant win over Georgia

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Social media reacts to Oklahoma’s dominant win over Georgia


The Oklahoma Sooners left no doubt in their 11-4 win over the Georgia Bulldogs to advance to the College World Series finals. It is OU’s second trip to the finals since 2022 but this one feels far more improbable.

A bubble team toward the end of the regular season and down 8-2 in an elimination game against Georgia Tech, Oklahoma has defied the odds and powered its way to the finals in Omaha. On Wednesday night, the Sooners hit five home runs against a Bulldogs team that led the nation in home runs per game this season.

Jason Walk got the home run party started, and Dasan Harris hit a pair of two-run bombs to help Oklahoma separate from one of the best teams in college baseball.

From the mound, freshman Nick Wesloski put together a strong performance for the Sooners, allowing just one earned run in 5.2 innings pitched. L.J. Mercurius worked 3.1 and allowed just one earned run against the vaunted Georgia offense.

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Everything is clicking for Oklahoma heading into the finals, which begins on Saturday. They’ll face a good North Carolina Tar Heels for all the marbles. But before we get to the championship series, here’s a look at how social media reacted to the Sooners win over Georgia.

Playing for a Natty

Incredible Job by Skip Johnson

Definition of Team

Just Unreal

Got Hot at the Right Time

The Moment from the Dugout

Freshmen Phenoms

Nothing Easy, Everything Earned

Team of Destiny?

Exceeding All Expectations

Dasan Harris is that Dude

Incredible Story

Sooner Magic is alive and well

Playing for a trophy

Time to lay it all on the line

Just doing ridiculous things

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X (formerly known as Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.





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