Former President Donald J. Trump was indicted for a fourth time on Monday, this time in what prosecutors in Atlanta described as attempts by him and his allies to illegally undo his 2020 election loss in Georgia.
Fulton County District Attorney Fannie D. The indictment followed a lengthy investigation by Willis, and Mr. It includes 13 charges against Trump and 18 more against Trump associates. To reverse the Georgia election results.
Here’s what you need to know.
Trump was charged under Georgia’s RICO statute
Advocates Mr. Trump and his associates have been charged under the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, which allows multiple crimes committed by different people to be linked together by arguing that they acted together for a common criminal purpose.
Georgia’s RICO statute is modeled after a federal statute enacted against organized crime groups, but in recent years has been used effectively in white-collar crime and political corruption cases.
At the heart of the law, lawyers are required to prove the existence of an “enterprise” and a “pattern of fraudulent activity.” The 19 defendants were part of a criminal enterprise that sought to “accomplish the illegal goal of allowing Donald J. Trump to seize the office of the President,” Ms. Willis said.
Among the accused: Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows.
The charges outlined in the indictment extend beyond Mr Trump to some of his closest associates. Among them Mr. Trump’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and former New York City mayor, Mr. Trump’s lawyer Rudolph W. Including Giuliani.
Several other lawyers have also been charged with trying to subvert the election: Sidney Powell, who once promised to “unleash the Kraken” in exposing election fraud; John C. Eastman, Mr. who helped promote the idea of using fake Trump voters in states where Trump lost; And Kenneth Chesbro, who was instrumental in that effort.
The widespread nature of the fraud case is outlined in the indictment, citing conduct that occurred in Michigan, Arizona and Pennsylvania, where Mr. Prosecutors say it furthered the defendants’ efforts to keep Trump in power.
Ms. Willis said late Monday that she planned to try all 19 defendants together.
Fees fall into several baskets.
Mr. to reverse the election results in Georgia. The indictment summarizes several attempts by Trump and his associates. None of the 19 defendants was charged with participating in those different schemes, but under the RICO statute, prosecutors only had to prove that each violated state laws as part of a criminal enterprise pursuing a single larger goal.
In the legislative hearings held in December 2020, Mr. Many of the individual counts stem from false claims of election fraud made by Giuliani and two Trump lawyers, Robert Seeley and Ray Smith III.
Another set of allegations, Mr. It concerns a scheme by Trump’s supporters to vote a false slate of Trump supporters and send false documents to Congress claiming those voters were legitimate.
A third indictment alleges that several Trump associates conspired to steal voter data and tamper with voting equipment at an elections office in Coffee County.
District Attorney gives Trump 10 days
Ms Willis said on Monday she would give Mr Trump until noon on August 25 to surrender in Fulton County, where he will enter a plea to be charged with the charges.
Mr. When Trump was charged in New York, he was able to surrender and avoid some of the standard procedures for most people arrested, such as being shot in the mug and handcuffed.
Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labatt said this month that unless he was told otherwise, Mr. Trump said he will be booked like the other defendants.
However, the Secret Service may try to change the sheriff’s plans.
Trump blasted the allegations and questioned the prosecutor’s motive.
After the indictment Mr. Trump lashed out at Ms. Willis, accusing her of furthering his own political position, citing the fact that an improper copy of the indictment was allegedly uploaded to a court website before the grand jury. Voted.
Mr. Reuters reported that a document that appeared to be the filing of an indictment against Trump was posted on the website of a Fulton County court and has since been removed. A spokeswoman for the court called the document “fictitious,” and Clerk of Court Chey Alexander declined to discuss in detail what happened.
Mr. Trump and his allies said it was a sign that the prosecution viewed the late grand jury vote as a foregone conclusion.
Richard Fawcett, Danny Hakeem And Anna Betts Contributed reporting from Atlanta.
