Former US President Donald Trump has been indicted for his alleged attempt to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election in the state of Georgia. This marks the fourth criminal case filed against
him in a span of five months. Alongside 18 other associates, Mr. Trump, who is the leading Republican candidate for the 2024 presidency, faces 13 charges including racketeering and interference in the election process. He vehemently denies all charges, asserting that they are politically motivated.
Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis initiated an investigation in February 2021 into claims of election interference involving Mr. Trump and his allies. In a 98-page indictment released on Monday, prosecutors detailed 41 charges against the 19 individuals. Ms. Willis declared that the accused have the opportunity to surrender voluntarily by noon on Friday, August 25. She intends to proceed with a joint trial for all 19 defendants.
The list of alleged co-conspirators includes former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, ex-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, and former White House lawyer John Eastman. Others implicated are Jeffrey Clark, a former justice department official, and Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis, two Trump lawyers who amplified unverified assertions of extensive voter fraud.
The indictment alleges that the defendants "knowingly and willfully participated in a conspiracy to illicitly alter the election outcome in favor of Trump." Among the felony charges brought against the former president are:
-Violating Georgia's racketeering statute
-Solicitation of violating the oath by a public officer
-Conspiring to impersonate a public officer
-Conspiring to commit first-degree forgery
-Making false statements, filing false documents
The indictment labels the defendants as a "criminal organization," accusing them of various other crimes, including tampering with witnesses, computer intrusion, theft, and perjury. The most severe charge, violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), carries a maximum prison term of 20 years. The RICO Act is designed to aid prosecutors in establishing connections between subordinates who violated laws and those who issued orders.
In response, the Trump campaign characterized the district attorney as a "partisan zealot" who filed "unfounded indictments" to interfere with the 2024 presidential race and "harm the dominant Trump campaign." The campaign further stated, "This latest coordinated attack by a prejudiced prosecutor in a heavily Democratic jurisdiction not only betrays the trust of the American people but also exposes the true motive behind their fabricated allegations."
Donald Trump is the first former US president in history to face criminal charges.
Earlier on Monday, confusion arose when a list of criminal charges against Mr. Trump appeared on a Fulton County website before the grand jury had voted on an indictment. The document claimed Mr. Trump had been charged with racketeering, conspiracy to commit fraud, and making false statements. A spokesperson for Ms. Willis stated that the document was "false," without clarifying how it appeared on the court's website. Mr. Trump and his allies used this apparent clerical error to assert that the process was rigged. Earlier this month, federal prosecutors in Washington DC charged Mr. Trump with conspiring to overturn the 2020 election, which he lost to Democratic President Joe Biden. Photo by Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia commons.