Trump’s Georgia Election Interference Case Is Dismissed. Where Do the Other Cases Against Him Stand?

A judge dismissed the Georgia election interference case against President Donald Trump and others on Wednesday after a request from the prosecutor, making the historic racketeering prosecution the latest in a string of legal cases against Trump that have dissolved since he was reelected to a second term. Pete Skandalakis, the executive director of Georgia’s nonpartisan prosecutor council who took over the prosecution earlier this month, filed a motion requesting to drop the case on Wednesday, which a judge later approved. In his filing, Skandalakis claimed that “it is not illegal to question or challenge election results.” The case stemmed from a phone call between Trump and Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in January 2021, during which Trump urged Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes.” Trump and 18 others were indicted in August 2023 for allegedly participating in a plot to overturn the state’s 2020 election results. Trump initially faced 13 counts, including violating state racketeering laws, conspiring to commit forgery, and making false statements. But the case stalled last year after it was revealed that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who brought the charges, was in a relationship with the special prosecutor she had appointed to oversee the case. A state appeals court in December blocked Willis from the case, but the case was allowed to proceed. Skandalakis, who was tasked with finding a new prosecutor to replace Willis, ultimately took the case over himself, pointing to difficulties finding another attorney to do so. The case’s dismissal ends the last remaining attempt to criminally prosecute the President for his efforts to overturn his 2020 electoral defeat. Trump has faced a number of legal battles in recent years. But since he was reelected last November, several of those cases have gone up in smoke. Here are some of the major cases that were brought against Trump and where they currently stand. Federal election obstruction case In August 2023, then-Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith charged Trump with conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election. Prosecutors alleged that Trump repeatedly promoted election fraud lies and pressured state officials to undermine the results of the election. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges. The case stirred debate about Trump’s potential immunity, since it was the first time a President was indicted over actions taken during their time in the White House. In February 2024, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Trump wasn’t immune from prosecution, but Trump appealed the case. In July 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that the President “is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for his official acts.” About a month after the Supreme Court’s ruling, Smith filed a superseding indictment against Trump. But after Trump won the 2024 election, Smith moved to drop the charges, citing a long-standing Department of Justice policy that gives sitting Presidents immunity from federal prosecutions. In January, though, Smith released a report that said that “the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial.” Federal classified docs case In June 2023, Smith filed a separate case against Trump, charging him with illegally mishandling classified documents. Prosecutors alleged that Trump took classified documents from the White House to Mar-a-Lago in January 2021, and that he obstructed government officials’ investigation into the matter. A Trump-appointed federal judge dismissed the case in July 2024, arguing that Smith’s appointment as Department of Justice Special Counsel hadn’t been confirmed by Congress. The department later said it would reopen the case, but after Trump was reelected last year, Smith moved to drop the charges. New York “hush money” case In May 2024, a New York jury convicted Trump of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the lead-up to the 2016 election. With the ruling, Trump became the first former U.S. President to be convicted of a felony. While the conviction could have led to up to four years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines, Trump didn’t serve jail time and didn’t face probation or fines. In January—days before Trump was sworn in for his second term—a Manhattan judge sentenced Trump to “unconditional discharge,” saying that it was the “only lawful sentence” that wouldn’t interfere with Trump’s legal protections as President. New York fraud case New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a civil lawsuit against Trump and top executives at the Trump Organization in 2022. The suit alleged that the defendants exaggerated Trump’s wealth, in an attempt to receive better loan terms. Trump and the other executives named in the suit denied the allegations. In February 2024, a New York judge ruled that Trump had committed fraud, ordering him to pay $355 million in penalties. Those penalties increased in the following months, surpassing $520 million with interest. But in August, a New York appeals court threw out the multimillion-dollar penalty, with the majority of the judges on the panel calling it “excessive.” The appeals court upheld the initial ruling that found Trump liable for fraud, and it agreed with other punishments that had been levied against him, including prohibiting Trump from holding a corporate leadership role at any New York company for three years. James said she would appeal the ruling. New York defamation and sexual abuse case E. Jean Carroll, a well-known writer, alleged in her 2019 memoir that Trump raped her in a New York City department store in the 1990s. Trump denied the allegation, and has publicly condemned and attacked Carroll since.  Carroll brought two civil lawsuits against Trump. A jury in 2023 found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll, but not for rape. He was ordered to pay the writer $5 million. In 2024, the jury in the other case ordered Trump to pay Carroll $83.3 million for making defamatory comments about her. Trump appealed both cases. In December, an appeals court panel maintained that Trump must pay Carroll $5 million; he requested that the full appellate court reconsider, but that request was rejected in June. A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team said earlier this month that the President is asking the Supreme Court to review the case.  A federal appeals court in September upheld the $83.3 million judgment against him.