Head of prosecutors’ council accused of delaying case against Lt. Gov. Jones

ATLANTA - If a judge disqualifies Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting former President Trump, it will be up to the state Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council to choose a replacement.

But already, a group of attorneys has accused the head of the council of moving too slow to find a special prosecutor in a related case – the possible prosecution of Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.

Fayetteville attorney Wayne Kendall filed a lawsuit in Clayton County earlier this month against PAC Executive Director Pete Skandalakis. With four of his law colleagues listed as plaintiffs, Kendall’s complaint says the clock is running out to bring charges against Jones for his role in trying to give Georgia’s 16 electoral votes to Donald Trump instead of Joe Biden in 2020. 

It's been a year and a half since a Fulton County judge disqualified DA Willis from indicting the lieutenant governor, thrusting responsibility for naming a conflict prosecutor on Skandalakis. Kendall said the statute of limitations on Jones’ alleged crimes runs out Dec. 14.

"He would be exonerated simply by the passage of time, even though two grand juries in Fulton County have implicated him in four felony crimes under Georgia law," Kendall said. 

Skandalakis has asked a Clayton County judge to dismiss Kendall’s complaint. In his answer, filed by the state Attorney General’s Office, Skandalakis said "the process of identifying a conflict prosecutor to handle the matter in which the District Attorney of Fulton County was disqualified is still ongoing."

He also said the statute of limitations on Jones is actually about a year longer than what Kendall says, because of court delays during the COVID pandemic. 

Lt. Gov. Jones, considered a leading contender for the governor's office in 2026, was referred to as "Unindicted Co-Conspirator Individual 8" in the Fulton County indictment that charged former President Trump and 18 other defendants with election interference. 

Jones was part of a slate of so-called fake electors for Trump in 2020, the grand jury describing him as a main organizer of a meeting of alternate electors on December 14, 2020. Three of his fellow alternate electors, David Shafer, Cathy Latham, and state Sen. Shawn Still, are accused of impersonating a public officer, first degree forgery, false statements and writings, and filing false documents.

DA Willis couldn’t prosecute Jones, though, after a judge disqualified her from targeting him in July 2022. The judge said she had a conflict of interest over a fundraiser she hosted for Jones’ Democratic opponent for lieutenant governor.

"It's a ‘What are you thinking?’ moment," Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney told Willis during a hearing. "The optics are horrific."

Willis now faces disqualification from the entire election interference case over allegations that she financially benefitted from a personal relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, creating a conflict of interest.

Kendall said he and his clients want Skandalakis held accountable for not holding the lieutenant governor accountable. They filed a mandamus petition – a legal attempt to force a public official to perform a nondiscretionary duty. 

"It seems to me that one of the possibilities is that Mr. Skandalakis is allowing political considerations to come into play with regards to his desires to appoint a conflict prosecutor," Kendall told the FOX 5 I-Team. "And I think that’s inappropriate."

Skandalakis told the I-Team he can’t talk about ongoing litigation. Last year, he told FOX 5 he would make a decision on a special prosecutor within a matter of weeks.

"That's going to be extremely difficult to find somebody, not only because of the resources that you need to handle a case like this, but the limitations I have in paying somebody," Skandalakis told the I-Team in August.

Kendall said he and his clients – John Clark, Kenneth Dious, Randy Frails and Chevene King – are paying for the lawsuit themselves. Last year Kendall filed a lawsuit seeking to disqualify Jones from office over his role as a Trump elector, which a Butts County judge rejected. Kendall is appealing.

"I do what I feel I have a duty to do as an official of the court, and as a citizen of this state," Kendall said. "If you want to call it activism or anybody wants to call it activism, have at it. It’s not a term I use."

While trying to speed along Skandalakis, the attorney is also trying to speed along his case against him.

He's asking a judge to let him take Skandalakis’ deposition and to hold a first hearing within the next two weeks. He said he wants to know why Skandalakis can’t find someone, despite one Democratic district attorney publicly saying he’s available.

"One particular DA has volunteered to take on the case with no strings attached, and he has failed to appoint this particular DA," Kendall said.

But Skandalakis told The New York Times he has reservations about District Attorney Jared Williams, of the Augusta Judicial Circuit, because of his involvement in a lawsuit challenging the state legislature's creation of a Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission to oversee district attorneys, something Burt Jones backed.

Skandalakis responded in court filings that he stands by his decision on Williams, saying the lawsuit was "one of many factors." 

He also says a mandamus complaint can't be used to force him to do something discretionary, or to hurry his work "in the particular manner they demand." 

Lt. Gov. Jones declined an interview request for this story, his office handing the I-Team the same written statement it gave to other media:

"Burt has never been concerned about these partisan efforts to weaponize the legal system to subvert the will of the voters of Georgia. He welcomes the opportunity to get this behind him and continue fighting for the people of the state."