Georgia Levels Yet Another Indictment Against Trump – The American Spectator

On Monday, a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, indicted former President Donald Trump and 18 others on charges that included racketeering and perjury. The indictment alleges that Trump and his allies attempted to overturn Georgia’s presidential election in 2020.

In addition to leveling charges against the former president, the indictment also names Trump officials, including former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and former chief of staff Mark Meadows. (READ MORE: Georgia’s Geoff Duncan Must Be Disqualified for Anti-Trump Bias)

“Subsequent to the indictment, as is the normal process in Georgia law, the grand jury issued arrest warrants for those who are charged,” Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said during a press conference on Monday. “I am giving the defendants the opportunity to voluntarily surrender no later than noon on Friday the 25th day of August 2023.”

Trump reacted to the indictment on Monday over Truth Social, saying:

So, the Witch Hunt continues! 19 people Indicated [indicted] tonight, including the former President of the United States, me, by an out of control and very corrupt District Attorney who campaigned and raised money on, “I will get Trump.”

Trump also pointed out that the indictment document was leaked on Fulton County’s court website hours before the charges were announced, before being taken down: “What about those Indictment Documents put out today, long before the Grand Jury even voted, and then quickly withdrawn? Sounds Rigged to me!”

Racketeering Charge

The indictment alleges that Trump and his co-defendants were engaged in racketeering under a Georgia state law that was intended for use against the mafia. The law will allow the district attorney to build a case that tells a “story — not only laying out a set of criminal acts, but identifying a group of people working toward a common goal, as part of an ‘enterprise,’ to engage in patterns of illegal activities,” the New York Times writes.

Willis will allege that Trump and the 18 other defendants listed in the indictment were engaged in a “sprawling but organized criminal effort” to undermine the results of Georgia’s election. (READ MORE: Trump Can Win: 2024 Isn’t 2020)

Willis has a history of using Georgia’s racketeering law, known as RICO. Just last year, she announced charges “against a gang that allegedly targeted celebrities and high-profile Atlanta-area homes in a robbery ring last year.” In 2021, she won a case using the same law against 35 educators, alleging they were involved in a widespread cheating scandal.

Willis’ indictment bears some similarities to special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment; however, in this case, Trump is being indicted under Georgia state law. Georgia is one of five states in which a governor cannot pardon criminals, and, if convicted, Trump may have to serve at least five years. (READ MORE: The Republican Pseudo-Party)

“If there were to be a sympathetic Republican elected president, Trump, on a federal conviction or the federal charges, could be given a pardon immediately,” University of Georgia law professor Ronald Carlson told Insider. “That is not possible in Georgia.”

Willis’ indictment in Fulton County, Georgia, is the fourth indictment against the former president, who is already swamped with legal fees.