Who are the prosecutors and lead defense attorneys in Trump's criminal cases?
Executive summary
Four major strands of prosecutors and defense teams have been central to Donald Trump’s criminal legal exposure from 2023–2025: the now-dropped Fulton County (Georgia) racketeering prosecution overseen most recently by Peter Skandalakis; prior Fulton County work begun by Fulton DA Fani Willis and lead special prosecutor Nathan Wade (whose relationship with Willis led to disqualification proceedings); federal special counsel Jack Smith’s actions (noted in broader trackers and summaries); and high-profile private defense lawyers who have repeatedly represented Trump and in some cases joined his administration, including Steve Sadow, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove (who later took DOJ roles). The Georgia case—the last remaining criminal prosecution against Trump—was halted when Skandalakis appointed himself and then dropped the charges on Nov. 26, 2025 [1] [2] [3].
1. The Georgia prosecution that dominated coverage — who prosecuted it and why it collapsed
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis originally brought the racketeering-style indictment in August 2023 and had hired Nathan Wade as a lead special prosecutor; their undisclosed romantic relationship prompted courts to find an appearance of impropriety and forced removal and review of the prosecution [4]. The Georgia Supreme Court’s disqualification of Willis left the case without a willing local prosecutor; Peter Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, said he could not find a replacement and appointed himself to take over the file [1] [5]. Skandalakis concluded the case was not viable to try against Trump — citing logistical problems, issues proving criminal intent for some defendants, and the implications of the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling — and filed to drop the charges, which Judge Scott McAfee then dismissed on Nov. 26, 2025 [3] [6].
2. Who led Trump’s defense in these matters — repeat counsel and new roles
Steve Sadow is identified repeatedly as a lead lawyer for Trump in the Georgia matter and celebrated the dismissal as an end to “political persecution” [1] [7]. Other prominent defense figures who have represented Trump in his broader criminal defense network include Todd Blanche and Emil Bove; both were long-time private defense attorneys for Trump and, according to reporting, later were tapped by the incoming administration for senior Justice Department roles [8] [9]. Sources note that some of Trump’s personal criminal defense attorneys later assumed government positions, a fact critics flagged as a potential conflict or consolidation of influence [10] [8].
3. Federal prosecutions and their prosecutors — what available sources say
The reporting assembled here refers to federal special counsel Jack Smith as the lead figure in the DOJ’s January 6 and related probes earlier in the period; his office’s investigations shaped parallel federal proceedings against Trump [11]. Available sources do not give a single consolidated list of every federal prosecutor still active in 2025 in this collection, but they document structural shifts at the Justice Department—acting U.S. attorneys and politically aligned appointees—affecting federal cases and prompting judicial challenges [12] [13].
4. How prosecutorial appointments and removals shaped outcomes
The Georgia case’s trajectory shows how personnel and procedural questions can determine a high-profile prosecution’s fate: Willis’s hiring of a special prosecutor and their relationship produced the legal basis for disqualification; Skandalakis’s eventual self-appointment and discretionary decision to drop the case ended the last active state prosecution against Trump [4] [1] [3]. Nationwide, courts have also scrutinized the appointment of acting U.S. attorneys whose tenures were later challenged as unconstitutional, producing dismissals in unrelated politically charged prosecutions [12] [13].
5. Competing perspectives and hidden agendas in the coverage
Prosecutors and defense teams frame the same events very differently: Skandalakis and his supporters described the dismissal as a lawful exercise of prosecutorial discretion and a response to unworkable case theory and timing [3], while Trump’s defense portrayed the outcome as vindication against “lawfare” and partisan prosecution [7]. Conversely, critics warn that the shifting personnel at the Justice Department and the placement of former defense lawyers into prosecutorial or supervisory roles create the appearance of political influence over accountability [10] [8]. Readers should note those competing narratives and that reporting points both to legal vulnerabilities in the prosecutions and to political forces that reshaped prosecutorial capacity [6] [10].
Limitations: these sources focus heavily on the Georgia matter and on reporting about DOJ staffing; available sources do not list every single prosecutor or defense attorney across all Trump-related criminal matters in exhaustive form, nor do they provide full staff rosters for Jack Smith’s office or every private defense counsel (available sources do not mention full rosters).