A sweeping challenge to President Trump and a group of his allies over the 2020 election came to an abrupt end on Wednesday, when the newly installed prosecutor announced he was abandoning the case entirely. Within minutes, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee signed off on the request, bringing the long-running prosecution to a full stop.
Judge McAfee issued a brief ruling granting the motion almost immediately after it was filed, writing simply: “This case is hereby dismissed in its entirety.”
The move came from Peter Skandalakis, who had stepped in to run the case after a year-long ordeal in which he attempted — unsuccessfully — to find an outside attorney willing to take over following the removal of District Attorney Fani Willis. In a 23-page explanation, Skandalakis admitted that the sprawling prosecution “is on life support and the decision [on] what to do with it falls on me and me alone.”
He went on to argue that the matter never belonged in state court to begin with. Skandalakis pointed directly to Jack Smith’s decision to abandon the federal version of the Georgia allegations after Trump’s 2024 victory, noting that the special counsel had concluded the case was barred by Department of Justice policy prohibiting charges against a sitting president. “If Special Counsel Jack Smith, with all the resources of the federal government at his disposal… concluded that prosecution would be fruitless,” Skandalakis wrote, “then I too find that, despite the available evidence, pursuing the prosecution… would be equally unproductive.”
Trump’s attorney Steve Sadow welcomed the development and praised the prosecutor, saying, “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 described Skandalakis as “a fair and impartial prosecutor.”
Skandalakis had announced earlier this month that he was assuming responsibility for the case after being unable to secure “another conflict prosecutor,” warning that the deadline to appoint someone was reaching its end and risked dismissal if no replacement was found.
The original indictment, issued on Aug. 14, 2023, named Trump and 18 others on charges ranging from racketeering to conspiracy. Nine days later, Trump traveled to Atlanta for booking, becoming the first president in American history to sit for a mugshot. The roster of co-defendants included figures such as Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro, Mark Meadows, Jeffrey Clark, Michael Roman, Scott Hall, Cathy Latham, David Shafer, Ray Smith, Robert Cheeley, Shawn Still, Harrison Floyd, Misty Hampton, Stephen Lee, and Trevian Kutti. Four of them — Chesebro, Ellis, Hall, and Powell — entered guilty pleas in late 2023, receiving probation and other penalties.
But the case’s momentum had already been severely damaged by the scandal involving Willis and Nathan Wade, whom she had appointed as a special prosecutor. After revelations that the two had been in a personal relationship, Wade was pushed off the case in March 2024. The Georgia Court of Appeals then barred Willis and her office from any further involvement on June 3. Her final attempt to stay on the matter ended in September 2025, when the state’s Supreme Court refused to hear her appeal.
In his dismissal motion, Skandalakis laid out several reasons the case could not responsibly continue. He pointed out that the trial might not begin for a decade, given that Trump is not due to leave office until January 2029. He also emphasized that his office lacks the staff and resources required to manage a massive RICO prosecution of this size, and questioned the entire theory of the indictment. Actions listed as part of the alleged conspiracy — he wrote — were nowhere near sufficient to support a racketeering charge. “Overt acts such as arranging a phone call, issuing a public statement, tweeting to the public to watch the Georgia Senate subcommittee hearings… are not acts I would consider sufficient to sustain a RICO case,” Skandalakis wrote.
With Wednesday’s ruling, all criminal cases against Trump have now been closed. The only remaining courtroom battle is his appeal of the Manhattan verdict on 34 counts related to business records, for which he was given no punishment at sentencing.
{Matzav.com}
A forceful public letter was released today by the Chief Rav of Israel, Rishon LeTzion Rav David Yosef, addressing the frightening rise of domestic abuse and urging Klal Yisroel to eradicate this destructive behavior from our midst.
In strong language, the Chief Rav wrote that any form of assault within the home is a grave aveirah that runs counter to the very foundations of Torah life. He stressed that batei din are obligated to deal with such cases immediately and without leniency.
Rav Yosef lamented that “Sadly, we sometimes hear about severe cases of fighting and violence within families, even to the point of raising hands. Such acts are like those of the gentiles, devoid of manners and values, who have lost all human dignity. Our holy Torah calls such a person: ‘a wicked man.’” He described these episodes as foreign to a Jewish home and contrary to every value embedded in halachah.
He invoked the powerful warnings of his father, Rav Ovadia Yosef zt”l, who repeatedly denounced anyone who dares strike his wife. As he wrote, “As is known, my revered father, Rav Ovadia Yosef zt”l, warned many times and said sharp and precise words against the ‘wicked’ man who dares to raise his hands, especially against his wife, the queen of his home. ‘Cut off the hand of anyone who raises a hand against his wife. This is a serious sin, this is the act of gentiles, not the act of a Jew.’”
The Chief Rav made clear that the psak in batei din is unequivocal: “Any manifestation of violence, of any kind, is handled immediately, with great severity and seriousness by the esteemed judges.” He stressed that there is no tolerance or delay when dealing with such behavior.
Turning to the rabbanim and leaders in the field, Rav Yosef urged them to take an active role in helping victims and guiding them toward proper support. He wrote, “From here, I call on all community rabbis and public leaders in their respective areas, to stand by the victims, guide and direct them, and at times even immediately involve treatment agencies and law enforcement authorities, and to eradicate this scourge from among us, as it is a matter of life and death.”
Rav Yosef closed his powerful letter with an appeal to every member of Klal Yisroel: “To all our brothers and sisters, all the children of Israel, I send this call with affection: honor and cherish your wives. The woman is the crown of the home; she is the blessing of the home. Woe to the soul of anyone who does not know how to respect the honor of his wife, as this is one of the foundations of our Judaism.”
{Matzav.com}
Israeli officials have begun advancing steps tied to President Donald Trump’s Gaza framework, according to a Kan News update on Wednesday, as Washington intensifies its demands and the number of murdered hostages still inside Gaza continues to fall.
Military sources say the IDF is gearing up to bring large engineering vehicles into Rafah soon—possibly within the coming week—to start removing debris. This clearing work is intended to pave the way for a new humanitarian zone for Gazan civilians, one that would be completely out of Hamas’ hands.
Defense officials indicated that Israel has already updated the armed factions working alongside it in the area, explaining that the coordinated effort is meant to build a section of territory insulated from Hamas control. They described this as an early, practical step toward initiating the next part of the plan.
Under the American outline, a multinational force is eventually supposed to take responsibility for this secured zone, dubbed “New Gaza,” which currently remains under Israeli oversight. However, while several countries have signaled readiness to send troops, they remain unwilling to operate in “Old Gaza,” where Hamas still maintains its grip.
IDF units have already begun some of the groundwork in Rafah, including removing unexploded munitions and filling tunnels with concrete. Military officials said that even if discussions over the plan move forward, Hamas’ steadfast refusal to disarm means that these engineering activities still serve Israel’s goal of weakening and dismantling terrorist networks.
The scope of these preparations does not extend to Rafah’s Janina district, which Israeli intelligence believes still shelters dozens of underground Hamas operatives.
{Matzav.com}
As diplomatic pressure intensifies, Hamas officials are continuing to defend their stance on the group’s weapons, even as outside actors push for commitments ahead of the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire framework.
During an interview with al-Hadath/al-Arabiya, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem reiterated that decisions about arms cannot be imposed from the outside. He insisted that “the issue of weapons should first be resolved within national dialogue and internal consultation, reaching political understandings related to the overall Palestinian situation,” making clear that internal agreement must drive any decision.
Qassem underscored that the conversation around disarmament “is connected to internal consensus, and is also tied to a real political process that leads to an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, far from the Israeli logic that speaks of disarmament and similar terms.” He framed the debate as inseparable from broader political objectives.
He stressed that Hamas views its participation in ceasefire talks as proof of its readiness to advance. According to him, the organization has “fully committed to everything required in the first stage in order to open the way for transitioning to the second stage, which Israel continues to obstruct,” a claim he said explains the current deadlock.
Qassem described recent engagements with international actors as part of that effort. Hamas, he said, has been conducting discussions with Egyptian, Turkish, and Qatari representatives, as well as with other Palestinian groups, “to consult and engage in dialogue, and to reach agreed-upon national political understandings to move into the second stage,” noting that this next phase “contains further matters and complications and requires national consensus before entering it.”
He also said the movement has tried to show goodwill during these talks, explaining that “the movement is working seriously to reach the second stage, with all the arrangements it requires regarding the situation in the Gaza Strip.” He pointed to the delegation’s trip to Cairo as evidence that Hamas “is serious” about preparing for what comes next.
The roadmap announced by President Donald Trump on October 10, 2025, sought to halt hostilities and chart a political course for Gaza, calling for the Strip’s disarmament and the creation of a technocratic Palestinian administration overseen by the international community.
While those provisions remain key sticking points, Hamas officials have continued to say that the weapons question remains open. Earlier in the week, senior Hamas figure Khalil al-Hayya maintained that the matter “is tied to the end of the Israeli occupation,” indicating that the group does not view disarmament as imminent.
At the same time, international pressure is growing. Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani stated that his government is urging Hamas to accept the necessity of disarmament, noting that Doha believes the group is signaling readiness to step away from governing Gaza.
{Matzav.com}
