A Georgia grand jury indicted 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump and several allies Monday on conspiracy charges of trying to steal Georgia’s electoral votes from President Joe Biden after the 2020 election.
The indictment, bringing 41 charges against 19 defendants, accuses Trump and confederates of a coordinated plan to have state officials essentially spike Biden’s victory and award the state to Trump. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis launched her investigation of Trump in February 2021. The indictment had been expected since a special grand jury recommended unspecified charges in February 2023.Â
Here is what we know about the Georgia case:Â
- Trump and the others named in the 98-page indictment have until noon on Friday, Aug. 25, to voluntarily surrender.
- The legal case revolves mostly around the state’s RICO statute, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which penalizes activities of individuals engaging in organized crime.
- Others indicted included former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
- Willis said she would seek a trial “in the next six weeks” but scheduling is up to the appointed judge.
- Much of the indictment focused on behind-the-scenes pressure campaign on state election workers and the overt harassment that resulted from Trump’s naming of Ruby Freeman, a poll worker he falsely accused of fraud.
Willis said Trump had opportunities to legally challenge the election’s results, but chose instead to pursue a criminal scheme that was counter to Georgia’s process she called, “essential to the functioning of our Democracy.”
The Trump campaign condemned the charges as politically motivated. “Call it election interference or election manipulation,” said a campaign statement.
Besides the Georgia case, Trump faces New York charges of falsifying business records to make hush payments to women who claimed to have had sex with him before the 2016 election. And Justice Department special counsel…
Read the full article here
