Former President Donald Trump Indicted for the Fourth Time, This Time in Fulton County, Georgia
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Monday Aug. 14, a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia indicted former President Donald Trump on 13 charges brought by District Attorney Fani Willis (D) for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
The 98-page indictment was returned after more than two years of investigation by the district attorney’s office and includes 41 total counts. The indictment names 18 defendants in addition to Trump: Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Mark Meadows, Kenneth Chesebro, Jeffrey Clark, Jenna Lynn Ellis, Ray Stallings Smith III, Robert Cheeley, Michael Roman, David Shafer, Shawn Micah Tresher Still, Stephen Cliffgard Lee, Harrison William Prescott Floyd, Trveian Kutti, Sidney Powell, Cathleen Latham, Scott Graham Hall and Misty Hampton in addition to 30 unindicted, unnamed co-conspirators.
The 161 acts outline Trump and his associates’ plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia and other states including but not limited to Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C.
These individuals face multiple counts and all of those in the indictment are charged with violation of the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. According to the unsealed indictment, Trump is being indicted for Counts 1, 5, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 27-29 and 38-39 which include:
- Violation of the Georgia RICO Act (Count 1);
- Solicitation of violation of oath by public officer (Count 5, 28 and 38);
- Conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer (Count 9);
- Conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree (Counts 11 and 17);
- Conspiracy to commit false statements and writings (Counts 13 and 19);
- Conspiracy to commit filing false documents (Count 15);
- Filing false documents (Count 27) and
- False statements and writings (Counts 29 and 39).
“Trump and the other Defendants charged in this Indictment refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump. That conspiracy contained a common plan and purpose to commit two or more acts of racketeering activity in Fulton County, Georgia, elsewhere in the State of Georgia, and in other states,” the indictment reads.
The indictment references calls made by Trump and Giuliani to state officials, harassment and intimidation of election workers, the unlawful breach of election equipment by members of the enterprise, the fake electors scheme and an effort to cover up the conspiracy.
“Members of the enterprise, including several of the Defendants, created false Electoral College documents and recruited individuals to convene and cast false Electoral College votes at the Georgia State Capitol, in Fulton County, on December 14, 2020,” the indictment states.
One Act in particular, Act 43, describes a situation wherein Trump called Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr (R) “for the purpose of making false statements concerning fraud in the November 3, 2020, presidential election in-Georgia and elsewhere.” During the call, Trump reportedly, “asked Carr not to discourage other state attorneys general from joining a federal lawsuit filed by the State of Texas contesting the administration of the November 3, 2020, presidential election in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.” The indictment describes this event as “an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.”
On or around Jan. 2, 2021, the day of Trump’s now infamous “perfect call” to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R), the indictment describes Trump’s efforts to unlawfully solicit, request and importune Raffensperger “to engage in conduct constituting the felony offense … by unlawfully altering, unlawfully adjusting, and otherwise unlawfully influencing the certified returns for presidential electors for the November 3, 2020, presidential election in Georgia, in willful and intentional violation of the terms of the oath of said person as prescribed by law, with intent that said person engage in said conduct, contrary to the laws of said State, the good order, peace and dignity.”
While the charge is not attributed to Trump, the indictment also states that Cathleen Latham, a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits that attempted to decertify Georgia’s election results in 2020, committed perjury by making false statements in a separate lawsuit regarding voting machines, Curling v. Raffensperger.
Ahead of yesterday’s indictment, Trump attempted to prevent the special grand jury from releasing its report and sought to disqualify Willis from further investigation. However, his requests were rejected on July 17 by the Georgia Supreme Court and on July 31 by the Fulton County court, respectively.
This is the fourth time Trump has been indicted this year on criminal charges. On Aug. 1, Trump was indicted in Washington, D.C. by a federal grand jury on four counts for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Trump is currently facing 91 felony counts across four separate indictments.
Arrest warrants were issued for those who were charged, but the defendants have until Aug. 25 to voluntarily surrender. Trump is expected to plead not guilty.