Former US President Donald Trump has been formally charged with racketeering and a series of election-related offenses in Georgia on Monday (August 14). These charges come after a comprehensive two-year investigation into his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden in the state of Georgia. This marks the fourth criminal case against the 77-year-old Republican this year and the second case accusing him of seeking to undermine election results.
The legal basis of the case relies on statutes often employed against organized crime figures, which could potentially lead to an unprecedented moment in US history—a televised trial of a former president.
After roughly 10 hours of deliberation, the grand jury issued the charges on Monday. Unlike the election interference charges brought forth by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, which could potentially be affected by Trump’s reelection in 2024, this case led by Willis is expected to be insulated from any potential interference by Trump. He would not have the authority to pardon himself or his associates of any state convictions, nor could he order the dismissal of charges by Fulton County.
In addition to Trump, 18 other individuals, including Mark Meadows, Trump’s former White House chief of staff, and attorneys Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, have been indicted. The case centers around a phone call on January 2, 2021, during which Trump encouraged Georgia’s top election official, Brad Raffensperger, to “find” enough votes to overturn his narrow loss in the state. However, Raffensperger declined the request.
Furthermore, investigations by Willis also reportedly encompassed an alleged Trump campaign scheme to manipulate the US electoral process by submitting false slates of electors to the Electoral College, the body that officially elects the president and vice president.
In response to the indictment, the Trump campaign issued a statement asserting that “President Trump will continue to power through this unprecedented abuse of power.” The statement also accused Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, of being part of the “Deranged Democrat Prosecutor Club.” The statement was attributed to Karoline Leavitt, spokesperson for Make America Great Again Inc., according to local reports.
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