His lawyers, John Eastman and Rudy Giuliani, as well as former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, are among the defendants. On Tuesday, Meadows sought to move the case to federal court to try to get it dismissed under federal law, filings show.
Trump is now facing 91 charges across four separate indictments at the same time that he’s running for president in 2024. He denies any wrongdoing and has slammed the cases as politically motivated.
Key things to know about RICO, the law at the center of Trump's Georgia criminal case
From CNN's Devan Cole
Former President Donald Trump and his 18 co-defendants have been accused of breaking a variety of criminal laws in the Georgia 2020 election subversion case, but one crime ties all their alleged misconduct together: the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
The state law — which is commonly referred to as RICO — is similar to the federal version of the statute that targets so-called criminal enterprises. Georgia’s law allows prosecutors to pull an array of conduct into their indictments, including activities that took place outside of the state of Georgia but may have been part of a broad conspiracy.
Those convicted of racketeering charges also face steeper penalties, a point of leverage for prosecutors if they are hoping to flip potential co-conspirators or encourage defendants to take plea deals.
“Federal RICO is a very big deal. It’s difficult to prove, and it’s used pretty sparingly. Georgia RICO is a different animal. It’s easier to prove,” said Kenneth White, a defense attorney familiar with the federal law. “The point is, it’s used very aggressively there.”
For Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, the law has been her calling card. The Atlanta-area prosecutor has used it in a number of high-profile cases she’s previously brought in Georgia against school officials, gangs and musicians, including the rapper Young Thug.
The historic 41-count indictment unsealed Monday accuses Trump and the other defendants of being part of a broad conspiracy to attempt to overturn the 2020 election result in the Peach State.
Prosecutors say the criminal actions the charge is built around include: making false statements, filing false documents and forgeries, impersonating officials, computer breaches and attempts to influence witnesses.
Several of the acts alleged to have made up the racketeering conspiracy involved states other than Georgia.
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Could Donald Trump serve as president if convicted? In short, yes
From CNN's Jack Forrest
Then-President Donald Trump speaks to the media from the South Lawn of the White House in September 2020.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images/FILE
Donald Trump for the second time this month has been indicted on charges related to 2020 election subversion, this time in the state of Georgia – a stunning fourth time this year that the former president has faced criminal charges.
But could the former president, who remains the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, assume the Oval Office again if convicted of the alleged crimes? In short, yes.
University of California, Los Angeles law professor Richard L. Hasen – one of the country’s leading experts on election law – said Trump still has a path to the presidency should he win reelection in 2024.
Legal experts have pointed to the 14th Amendment as a way to keep Trump from holding office if he is convicted, which includes a “disqualification clause” that bars anyone from holding public office if they “have engaged in insurrection or rebellion” or “given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
“There’s a big open debate over whether that element of the 14th Amendment is self-executing, and then open to judicial enforcement or whether Congress would need to pass legislation to enforce that provision. And that’s a debate that the legal academies are currently having now, we have no answer for that,” said Anthony Michael Kreis, an assistant professor of law at Georgia State University.
“But to the extent that there might be a conviction in Georgia or in Washington, DC, for these election related crimes,” Kreis said, “I think that that’s another big open question about how these charges might relate to [Trump’s] ability and his eligibility to hold the office of the presidency.”
What to expect for Trump’s upcoming surrender and arraignment in Georgia
From CNN's Sara Murray
Former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Windham, New Hampshire, on August 8.
Reba Saldanha/Reuters/File
Former President Donald Trump’s surrender and arraignment will look different in Georgia than in his previous three criminal cases.
Now that Trump and others have been indicted, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis set an August 25 deadline for their voluntary surrender.
Defendants who are not immediately arrested upon indictment — as was the case for Trump and his associates — usually negotiate bond if applicable, as well as other terms of release with the district attorney’s office.
Defendants typically surrender and are processed at the Fulton County jail. It’s unclear if that will be the case for Trump, given his unique position as a former president with Secret Service protection.
Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat has previously suggested he wants to treat these defendants the same as any other defendant would be treated. That means they would have mugshots taken and be fingerprinted. However, now that Trump is indicted, the sheriff will have to negotiate with Secret Service and Trump’s attorneys about the logistics of Trump’s surrender.
The initial court appearance for Trump and other defendants is expected to be set by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who has been assigned to the case, according to court papers.
It will be up to McAfee’s discretion to schedule the initial appearance, which could take place in days, weeks or months.
Several judges in the county have been allowing these appearances to occur over Zoom, so it’s possible Trump’s initial appearance could take place remotely.It’s also possible Trump could waive some of these initial steps.
See a breakdown of next steps:
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Trump is expected to be booked at Fulton County jail, sheriff says
From CNN's Jason Morris and Marshall Cohen
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a fundraiser event for the Alabama GOP, on August 4, in Montgomery, Alabama.
Butch Dill/AP
Former President Donald Trump is expected to surrender at the Fulton County jail, the local sheriff said Tuesday in a statement.
Trump has not publicly indicated when he intends to surrender ahead of the August 25 deadline. The statement from the Fulton County Sheriff’s office addresses the key question of where the former president would be arrested and processed as a criminal defendant.
Most defendants charged in Fulton County are typically booked at the Fulton County jail.
Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat has previously suggested he wants to treat the defendants charged in the Trump election subversion case the same as any other defendant would be treated
“Unless someone tells me differently we will be following normal practices. It doesn’t matter your status we will have mug shots ready for you,” Labat said earlier this month on CNN.
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Giuliani is facing massive legal bills after defending Donald Trump
From CNN's Katelyn Polantz, Tierney Sneed and Jeremy Herb
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, an attorney for former US President Donald Trump during challenges to the 2020 election results, exits U.S. District Court after attending a hearing in a defamation suit related to the 2020 election results that has been brought against Giuliani by two Georgia election workers, at the federal courthouse in Washington, DC, on May 19.
Leah Millis/Reuters
Rudy Giuliani is staring down hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal bills and sanctions amid numerous lawsuits in addition to the new criminal charges – related to his work for Donald Trump after the 2020 election.
In court on Monday, the former New York City mayor said the legal quagmires have left him effectively out of cash. He even appears to have responded to some of the money crunch by listing for sale a 3-bedroom Manhattan apartment he owns for $6.5 million.
Not including standard legal fees, Giuliani faces nearly $90,000 in sanctions from a judge in a defamation case, a $20,000 monthly fee to a company to host his electronic records, $15,000 or more for a search of his records, and even a $57,000 judgment against his company for unpaid phone bills.
While he has declined in court to provide details of his financial state, his lawyers wrote this week that “producing a detailed financial report is only meant to embarrass Mr. Giuliani and draw attention to his misfortunes.”
Giuliani’s financial situation is likely to become even more difficult to navigate in the coming days. He faces potentially perilous court decisions against him in two 2020 election defamation lawsuits as early as this week.
While Giuliani’s attorneys’ fees have not been paid directly by Trump’s political action committee, Trump’s PAC paid more than $300,000 in May to a company handling Giuliani’s archived records for evidence preservation in court cases, according to federal campaign finance records and court filings.
“He is having financial difficulties,” Giuliani’s lawyers said in a filing this month in a civil defamation case brought by two Georgia election workers against him. “Giuliani needs more time to pay the attorneys’ fees and would like the opportunity to seek an extension from the Court.”
Giuliani is facing disbarment proceedings in DC and New York. His law license is already suspended – a situation his attorneys say leaves him further hampered from making money. And he is facing a personal lawsuit from an ex-employee filed in May, which he is contesting.
The criminal charges that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis brought against Trump, Giuliani and 17 others will undoubtedly add to the former mayor’s legal bills.
Here is a list of publicly available statements issued by some of the 19 defendants and the lawyers representing them in the case:
Trump lawyers Drew Findling, Jennifer Little and Marissa Goldberg: “The events that have unfolded today have been shocking and absurd, starting with the leak of a presumed and premature indictment before the witnesses had testified or the grand jurors had deliberated and ending with the District Attorney being unable to offer any explanation. In light of this major fumble, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office clearly decided to force through and rush this 98-page indictment. This one-sided grand jury presentation relied on witnesses who harbor their own personal and political interests — some of whom ran campaigns touting their efforts against the accused and/or profited from book deals and employment opportunities as a result. We look forward to a detailed review of this indictment which is undoubtedly just as flawed and unconstitutional as this entire process has been.”
Donald Trump on his social platform Truth Social: “So, the Witch Hunt continues! 19 people Indicated 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.’ And what about those Indictment Documents put out today, long before the Grand Jury even voted, and then quickly withdrawn? Sounds Rigged to me! Why didn’t they Indict 2.5 years ago? Because they wanted to do it right in the middle of my political campaign. Witch Hunt!”
Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s former lawyer: “This is an affront to American Democracy and does permanent, irrevocable harm to our justice system. It’s just the next chapter in a book of lies with the purpose of framing President Donald Trump and anyone willing to take on the ruling regime. They lied about Russian collusion, they lied about Joe Biden’s foreign bribery scheme, and they lied about Hunter Biden’s laptop hard drive proving 30 years of criminal activity. The real criminals here are the people who have brought this case forward both directly and indirectly”
Harvey Silverglate, co-counsel for defendant John Eastman: “The indictment in Georgia vs. Donald Trump and 18 others sets out activity that is political, but not criminal. It goes hand-in-glove with the recent effort to criminalize lawful political speech and legal advice, in stark violation of constitutional rights to Freedom of Speech, Right to Petition the Government for Redress of Grievances, and the Right to Counsel. Lawyers everywhere should be sleepless over this latest stunt to criminalize their advocacy. This is a legal cluster-bomb that leaves unexploded ordinances for lawyers to navigate in perpetuity. Dr. Eastman will challenge this indictment in any and all forums available to him.”
Rachel Cauley, spokesman for Center for Renewing America, on behalf of Jeffrey Clark : “Jeff Clark is a brilliant legal mind who has litigated cases of national significance in and out of government for decades. Willis is exceeding her powers by inserting herself into the operations of the federal government to go after Jeff. She even jumped the gun and illegally presumed an indictment before it was issued. It’s clear Willis aspires to higher office and is using this witch hunt to climb the political ladder. Jeff Clark was simply doing his job in 2020 and he doesn’t deserve to be subjected to this naked political lawfare, especially not by a publicity hound like Willis.”
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Fulton County clerk says document Reuters published before Trump indictment was a "sample"
From CNN's Zachary Cohen
One day after claiming Reuters published a “fictitious” document outlining potential charges against former President Donald Trump before they were actually filed, the Fulton County court clerk’s office issued a new statement acknowledging that it was actually a “sample” document that it accidentally posted to the court’s website.
The Reuters report caused an uproar Monday, several hours before Trump and 18 others were formally charged in a sweeping indictment by state-level prosecutors in Georgia alleging they took part in a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results there.
The new statement from the clerk’s office states that a media outlet obtained “a docket sheet and shared it with other media outlets who then released the sample working document related to the former United States President, Donald Trump — reporting that an indictment had been returned by the Special Grand Jury in Fulton County Georgia.”
The statement goes on to say that Alexander had entered the document into the system “to test the system and conduct a trial run.” But “the sample working document led to the docketing of what appeared to be an indictment, but which was, in fact, only a fictitious docket sheet.”
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These are the post-election incidents that led to Georgia charges against Trump and allies
From CNN's Katelyn Polantz
Georgia prosecutors allege that former President Donald Trump and his allies broke state laws during about a dozen separate incidents after the 2020 election, according to the indictment made public Monday night.
There are 41 overall charges in the case, which was brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. The first charge involves Georgia’s anti-racketeering law known as the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO. But the next 40 non-racketeering charges stem from roughly a dozen key incidents after the 2020 election.
The events, and the crimes the Trump group allegedly committed, break down this way:
Counts 2-4: Presentation of fraud claims to Georgia Senate: Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and others are accused of making false statements about election fraud and pressuring members of the Georgia Senate while presenting to a legislative panel in early December 2020.
Count 5: Call to Georgia House Speaker: Trump is charged with asking then-Georgia House Speaker David Ralston to call a special session of the Georgia General Assembly.
Count 6-7: Presentation of fraud claims to Georgia House: Two charges accuse Giuliani and another man of breaking the law as they presented a video of vote counting at State Farm Arena, misconstruing it, to the Georgia House of Representatives.
Count 8-19: Fake electors scheme: This series of charges capture the fake elector scheme. A trio of Georgia residents were charged with crimes including forgery. Trump, Giuliani, Trump lawyer John Eastman and others around Trump’s campaign were charged with conspiracies related to the fake electors.
Count 20-21: First attempt to intimidate Atlanta election worker: Illinois pastor Stephen Lee is charged with two charges of attempting to influence witness Ruby Freeman, a 2020 election worker in Fulton County. Prosecutors say Lee went to Freeman’s home, knocked on her door and spoke to a neighbor. He was “purporting to offer her help” with the intent to influence her testimony about the vote counting in Atlanta, the indictment said.
Count 22: Trying to get DOJ to intervene in Georgia: Jeffrey Clark is charged with an attempt to make false statements when he tried to persuade the Justice Department to make false assertions in Georgia about the validity of the election’s results.
Count 23-26: Communication with Georgia Senate about voter fraud: These four charges capture efforts by Giuliani and others to influence and make false statements to the Georgia Senate on December 30, 2020, when he falsely told them thousands of dead people and felons voted in the election and smeared the vote counting at the State Farm Arena.
Count 27: Filing election lawsuit: This charge accuses Donald Trump and John Eastman of filing false information about votes in a federal court case that sought to block Georgia’s election result.
Count 28-29: Phone call to Georgia Secretary of State: Donald Trump and his White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows are charged around the call they made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on January 2, 2021, where Trump pleaded with Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to flip the results.
Count 30-31: Second attempt to influence Atlanta election worker: Three people are charged with conspiracy to solicit false statements from Ruby Freeman and trying to influence her on January 4, 2021.
Count 32-37: Coffee County voting machine breach: Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell and others are accused of conspiracies of computer theft, computer trespassing, invasion of privacy and election fraud related to the breach of voting machines in rural Coffee County, Georgia.
Count 38-39: Letter sent to Georgia Secretary of State: Donald Trump is charged with solicitation and false statements related to a letter he sent to Raffensperger in September 2021.
Count 40-41: Alleged lies to investigators and grand jury perjury: These are two charges that relate to the course of the investigation. Georgia GOP chairman David Shafer is accused of lying to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office investigators. Robert Cheeley is also accused of perjuring himself before the Fulton County Special Purpose Grand Jury.
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Meadows is trying to move the Fulton County case to federal court, filings show
From CNN's Tierney Sneed
Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is seeking to move the new Fulton County prosecution against him out of Georgia to federal court so that he can try to get the case dismissed under federal law, according to court filings.
Meadows argued that he is entitled to bring a federal immunity defense because the Georgia state charges against him stem from his conduct as then-President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, the court filing submitted in the US District Court of the Northern District of Georgia said Tuesday.
He said he intends to submit at a “later date” a more comprehensive request laying out why the case should be dismissed under federal law. But in the meantime, he argued that the federal court should move the charges out of state court, and into federal court, effectively halting the state-level proceedings against him.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis charged Meadows with violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering act known as RICO, and with soliciting a public official to violate their oath.
To be clear, Meadows’ request would not move the entirety of Willis case – which includes 18 other defendants and 41 total criminal charges – to federal court. Rather, it would be defendant-by-defendant endeavor.
According to the docket, Meadows’ removal request has been assigned to US District Judge Steve Jones, an appointee of former President Barack Obama.
Meadows is not expected to be only defendant who seeks to the move Willis’s charges to federal court, in order to potentially get the case dismissed quickly.
The law says that criminal actions brought in state court may be “removed” to federal court if the prosecution relates to conduct performed “under color” of a US office or agency.
Experts in Georgia criminal law told CNN Wednesday that they thought it was possible that government employees like former President Donald Trump, as well as former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, among others, would raise such arguments.
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Giuliani says he will surrender next week after indictment and believes case should be moved to federal court
From CNN's Abby Baggini
Rudy Giuliani said Tuesday he would pick a day next week to surrender to authorities in Fulton County and work out the conditions for bail after he was indicted in the Georgia 2020 election subversion case.
Giuliani argued the indictment jurisdiction should be changed from state to federal court or the case should be dismissed.
Giuliani said that under US Code Title 28 Judicial Procedure 1442, the case qualifies for “almost an automatic removal” to a federal court since he was working as an agent for someone in a federal office, a reference to his role as an attorney for President Donald Trump.
Notably, he did not directly mention the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) statute under which he was charged, which he famously used himself to prosecute various Mafia members in the 1980s as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Speaking on the Greg Kelly show, the former New York City mayor said he was anxious to fight the case. “We’re going to beat these fascists into the ground,” he said.
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These are the 19 people charged in the Georgia case, according to the indictment
From CNN's Marshall Cohen and Devan Cole
Donald Trump, Rudy Guiliani, John Eastman Jeffrey Clark, Jenna Ellis, Ray Smith, Robert Cheeley, David Shafer, Shawn Still, Harrison Floyd, Trevian Kutti, Sidney Powell, Cathy Latham, Scott Hall and Misty Hampton.
AP, Getty Images, Shutterstock, From LinkedIn
An Atlanta-based grand jury on Monday indicted former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants on state charges stemming from their efforts to overturn the former president’s 2020 electoral defeat in the Peach State.
Here are the 19 people charged in the Georgia case, according to the indictment.
Donald Trump, former US president
Rudy Giuliani, Trump lawyer
Mark Meadows, White House chief of staff
John Eastman, Trump lawyer
Kenneth Chesebro, pro-Trump lawyer
Jeffrey Clark, top Justice Department official
Jenna Ellis, Trump campaign lawyer
Robert Cheeley, lawyer who promoted fraud claims
Mike Roman, Trump campaign official
David Shafer, Georgia GOP chair and fake elector
Shawn Still, fake GOP elector
Stephen Lee, pastor tied to intimidation of election workers
Harrison Floyd, leader of Black Voices for Trump
Trevian Kutti, publicist tied to intimidation of election workers
Sidney Powell, Trump campaign lawyer
Cathy Latham, fake GOP elector tied to Coffee County breach
Scott Hall, tied to Coffee County election system breach
The judge assigned to oversee Trump's case in Fulton County is a former prosecutor and a lifelong Georgian
From CNN's Shawna Mizelle
Judge Scott McAfee
(From the Superior Court of Fulton County)
The latest indictment against former President Donald Trump in the Georgia 2020 election probe has been assigned to a judge who is a lifelong Georgian.
Scott McAfee became a Fulton County Superior Court judge in February after a career in which he has worked as a prosecutor and state inspector general (IG), where he was “responsible for investigating allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse in the Executive Branch of state government.”
When he was appointed inspector general in March 2021, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, called him a “strong addition to my administration.”
Prior to his IG role, he worked as the assistant United States attorney in the Northern District of Georgia and as senior assistant district attorney in the Fulton County Atlanta Judicial Circuit. In those positions, he prosecuted cases on drug trafficking, fraud, armed robbery and murder.
According to his inspector general biography, McAfee obtained his undergraduate degree from Emory University in music, where he received a scholarship to play cello in the university’s orchestra. He received his JD from the University of Georgia School of Law.
He grew up in Kennesaw, Georgia, and is married with a wife and two children. In addition to his professional legal career, McAfee is a volunteer scuba diver and captain of his tennis team.
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Republicans running for president react to Trump's indictment in the Georgia 2020 election probe
From CNN staff
Presidential candidates vying for the 2024 GOP nomination are reacting to the latest indictment against former President Donald Trump.
Here’s what they are saying:
Ron DeSantis: The Florida governor called the indictment “an example of this criminalization of politics,” adding “I don’t think that this is something that is good for the country.”
“They’re now doing an inordinate amount of resources to try to shoehorn this contest over the 2020 election into a RICO statute, which was really designed to be able to go after organized crime, not necessarily to go after political activity,” he said at a press conference with New England media.
DeSantis added that if he becomes president, he would appoint a new FBI director and bring in new leadership at the Justice Department.
Tim Scott: “We see the legal system being weaponized against political opponents,” the senator from South Carolina told reporters at the Iowa State Fair on Tuesday. “That is un-American and unacceptable.”
Asa Hutchinson: “This is another day of challenge for our democracy,” the former governor of Arkansas said in a statement. “I expect voters will make the ultimate decision on the future of our democracy. Over a year ago, I said that Donald Trump’s actions disqualified him from ever serving as President again. Those words are more true today than ever before.”
Asa Hutchinson speaks at an event in Des Moines, Iowa, on July 28. Scott Olson/Getty Images
Will Hurd: “Another day, another indictment, and another example of how the former president’s baggage will hand Joe Biden reelection if Trump is the Republican nominee. This is further evidence that Trump knew he lost the 2020 election and was ready to do anything it took to cling to power,” a statement from the former congressman read. “It’s time we move beyond dealing with the former president’s baggage. The Republican Party needs a leader who isn’t afraid of bullies like Trump.”
Will Hurd speaks during a House Intelligence Committee hearing in Washington in 2019. Samuel Corum/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images/FILE
Chris Christie: The former New Jersey governor said he thought the Georgia indictment was unnecessary because Trump was charged for “the same conduct federally” by special counsel Jack Smith. Christie told CNN he feels like Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis could have brought the case without Trump, adding that “I think the double charging here of Donald Trump is just something that complicates things in a way.”
But, looking to the 2024 election, he said voters need to take two things into account now that Trump will soon be out on bail in four different jurisdictions — First if Trump is really the Republican party’s best chance to beat President Joe Biden, and second, if noters are going to continue “as if this is normal conduct,” Christie said. “It’s not.”
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Timeline: A look at Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia
From CNN's Marshall Cohen, Jason Morris and Christopher Hickey
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Steer N' Stein bar at the Iowa State Fair on August 12, 2023 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Prosecutors in Georgia have aggressively investigated former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the hotly contested state.
In shocking phone calls, Trump privately pressured Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and another official to “recalculate” the numbers and “find” enough votes to let him win.
Frustrated by the lack of fraud investigations, Trump ousted the US attorney in Atlanta. On the day Congress was set to certify the Electoral College results, Trump held an incendiary rally and incited a mob of supporters to attack the Capitol, temporarily delaying the process.
After the insurrection was quashed later that night, the electoral votes were counted and Biden officially became President-elect.
Here’s a timeline of some of Trump’s efforts to try to overturn the election in the state:
December 29: Raffensperger announces that the audit in Cobb County found no evidence of fraudulent mail-in voting.
Trump says Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Raffensperger are “stupid,” and calls on them to “allow us to find the crime, and turn the state Republican.” He complains about the signature-matching inquiries. Trump also promotes a conspiracy theory that Raffensperger’s brother works for the Chinese government.
December 30: Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani speaks to a Georgia state Senate subcommittee about alleged election irregularities. Kemp rebukes Giuliani’s conduct during the hearing.
January 2: In an hour-long private phone call, Trump pressures Raffensperger to “find” the exact number of votes needed to overturn Biden’s victory. Trump also suggests to Raffensperger that he should publicly announce that he “recalculated” the election results. Raffensperger tells Trump that the election results were accurate. During the call, Trump also criticizes the US attorney in Atlanta, Byung Pak, calling him a “Never Trumper” without any evidence. CNN later reported that the call occurred after 18 previous attempts by the White House to call Raffensperger’s office. CNN obtained the audio below from a source who was on the call and had direct knowledge of the conversation. Read the full transcript here.
January 3: Trump tweets about the call, saying Raffensperger was “unwilling, or unable” to answer questions about alleged fraud in Georgia. In response, Raffensperger says Trump’s claims are “not true” and that “the truth will come out.” Later, The Washington Post publishes the full recording of the phone call.
January 4: On the eve of Georgia’s special Senate election, Trump holds a rally in Dalton, Georgia, where he pledges to campaign against Kemp and Raffensperger if they run for reelection in 2022. He also falsely claims the election was “rigged” against him.
January 5: A federal judge rejects an attempt by Trump’s campaign to decertify the election results in Georgia.
January 6: Trump mentions “Georgia” 20 times at a rally near the White House. He cites conspiracy theories about alleged irregularities and says election officials “should find those votes” needed to overturn Biden’s victory. He falsely claims Raffensperger and Kemp are “corrupt” and “defrauded us out of a win.”
During the speech, Trump urges the crowd to “fight like hell” and march to the US Capitol to pressure Vice President Mike Pence and lawmakers to block the Electoral College proceedings. Trump supporters storm the Capitol and violently disrupt the formal proceedings to certify Biden’s victory.
After the insurrection is quelled, several House Republicans unsuccessfully try to challenge Georgia’s slate of electors, falsely alleging that the election was “fraudulent.” Georgia’s electoral votes are counted and Biden officially becomes the President-elect.
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Analysis: Trump's latest indictment edges the US nearer to an election precipice
It is that Trump – the accused kingpin of the scheme to overturn Joe Biden’s victory, who was charged on Monday along with 18 others – could in 17 months be raising his right hand as the 47th president and swearing to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution he was accused of plotting to shred.
The grave political crisis created by Trump’s aberrant presidency and subsequent efforts to hold him to account deepened significantly just before midnight with the unsealing of yet another indictment against him – this one from a grand jury in the critical swing state of Georgia. The charges in this state case – which bring to 91 the total number of criminal charges he’s facing across four separate cases – intensified an already epochal collision between Trump’s now extreme legal quagmire and the 2024 election in which he is the front-runner for the Republican nomination.
The 98-page indictment includes 41 counts that chart in stunning detail an alleged conspiracy to pressure local officials, make false statements about electoral fraud to state legislatures, harrass election workers, and solicit Justice Department officials and then-Vice President Mike Pence. It also alleges an attempt to unlawfully breach election equipment in Georgia and elsewhere and includes a list of actions by Trump and associates it says were all attempts to advance the conspiracy.
It is surreal. But Trump has now made indictments of a former president – which were unprecedented just months ago – seem routine. In addition to the Georgia case, he has been charged by special counsel Jack Smith in two separate federal cases related to the mishandling of classified documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The ex-president also faces a March trial in Manhattan in a case arising from a hush money payment to an adult film actress in 2016. Trump has pleaded not guilty in these three cases and is certain to do the same in Georgia. He is likely to claim that his assault on the integrity of the Peach State’s election was merely an exercise of his right to free speech.
Far from retreating from his bid to return to power, the ex-president appears to see reclaiming the presidency – and its unique executive powers – as his best hope of forestalling the tsunami of legal cases that now confront him and any convictions that may result, before or after the election in November 2024. But the case in Georgia is highly significant since the realities of the US federal system mean that Trump, even if he recaptured the White House, would struggle to shut down a state investigation and criminal trial and could not engineer his own pardon.
House Republicans say 4th Trump indictment is "piling on" and question Georgia election results
From CNN's David Wright, Morgan Rimmer and Lauren Fox
Rep. Ken Buck speaks to the press after the House of Representatives passes US debt ceiling bill in Washington, DC, on May 31.
Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Colorado GOP Rep. Ken Buck said the fourth indictment of former President Donald Trump “appears to be piling on” and that he was “sad” that former House colleague Mark Meadows was involved in the case.
Buck, a willing critic of the former president in some cases, said on Inside Politics, “I think that this indictment looks like, to a lot of Americans, looks like piling on. And I think that’s an issue.”
“The federal indictment was just released a few weeks ago, dealt with this same issue. It dealt with it not on a state-by-state basis, but it dealt with it as a federal issue. It was a federal election and the Department of Justice special counsel brought an indictment,” he continued, before acknowledging that the Georgia case “is different in some respects.”
Virginia GOP Rep. Morgan Griffith, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said he “doesn’t know” if President Joe Biden actually won Georgia in 2020.
“I don’t know. And the problem is, I don’t think we’ll ever know because there were legitimate issues,” said Griffith, despite most of these alleged “issues” being debunked.
Griffith noted that he had not read the indictment from the Georgia grand jury last night, which alleges that Trump conspired to overturn the election in that state, arguing that it was just another political attack on the former president.
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Rank-and-file Senate Republicans attack new Trump indictments as leadership stays silent
From CNN's Morgan Rimmer
While Senate Republican leadership has held off on commenting on the newest indictments against former President Donald Trump, several members of their conference are attacking the charges as politically motivated. Notably, far fewer senators have reacted to this indictment than earlier ones, with most remaining silent on the charges.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said in a post that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had targeted Trump. “This prosecutor went in with an objective to indict Donald Trump. Dems don’t believe in democracy because they’re worried the voters don’t want four more years of the disaster that is Joe Biden. They want to abuse the justice system to take that choice away from voters,” he wrote.
Sen. Marco Rubio of Floridaadded, “The latest Trump indictment in Georgia was prematurely posted online, announced at a late-night press conference & cites an election night ‘victory speech’ as the first act of a conspiracy. A 3rd world spectacle carried out by a local prosecutor with political ambitions that far exceed her professionalism.”
His fellow Floridian, Sen. Rick Scott, tied the timing of the latest Trump indictment to the investigation into Hunter Biden. “August 9: We learn about $20 million in foreign payments to the Bidens. August 14: Far-Left prosecutors indict former President Trump. The only surprise is that it took 4 days this time instead of 1 like it normally does!” he said in a post.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, began alleging that the indictments were a “total weaponization” of the justice system against Trump hours before they were even unsealed. “Trump has been indicted again. Every time there is bad news about Hunter and Joe Biden, another Trump indictment immediately follows—do they think the American people are stupid? It’s beyond belief - total weaponization,” she said in a post.
In a post from her official Senate account, she added, “The newest charges against Trump in Fulton County come just days after AG Garland elevated Weiss to special counsel in the Hunter Biden case. Once again, the radical Left is targeting the Republican frontrunner, President Trump, to distract from the Biden family corruption.”
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Georgia governor rebukes Trump: "2020 election was not stolen"
From CNN's Kaitlan Collins
Gov. Brian Kemp speaks to voters during a campaign stop at Williamson Brothers Bar-B-Q on November 3, 2022 in Marietta, Georgia.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp publicly rebuked former President Donald Trump after he teased a so-called “major news conference” that he claimed would finally support the voter fraud allegations he has made for years without any basis.
“The future of our country is at stake in 2024 and that must be our focus,” Kemp added.
Asked for comment on the grand jury’s charges specifically, Kemp press secretary Garrison Douglas told CNN, “Given the governor was subpoenaed in this case in November of 2022, our office will not be commenting further.”
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The Trump indictment in Georgia was the result of a long-running investigation
From CNN's Sara Murray, Jason Morris, Zachary Cohen, Maxime Tamsett, Tierney Sneed, Devan Cole, Marshall Cohen and Jeremy Herb
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks at a news conference at the Fulton County Government building on August 14, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Megan Varner/Getty Images
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ investigation started in early 2021, soon after a January call became public in which former President Donald Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, to “find” the votes necessary for Trump to win the state in the presidential election.
Republican control of the state legislature and executive branch made it a particularly ripe target for Trump’s pressure campaigns. His attorneys appeared before Georgia lawmakers on three occasions to push bogus claims of election fraud and the state was targeted with lawsuits making unfounded allegations of voter irregularities.
As part of his effort to overturn the election results, Trump also unsuccessfully pressured Gov. Brian Kemp, who is also a Republican, to abuse his powers. Both Kemp and Raffensperger rebuffed those efforts.
When the efforts failed, Trump urged Georgia state lawmakers to convene a special session to overturn Biden’s victory. Trump allies, including his attorney Rudy Giuliani, presented bogus claims of voter fraud to the state House and Senate.
The Trump campaign, along with outside lawyers who supported their cause, filed meritless lawsuits that unsuccessfully tried to nullify Biden’s victory. And Trump tried to weaponize the Justice Department to help him intervene in the Georgia election, including by attempting to get agency officials to claim the election was “corrupt.”
The special purpose grand jury empaneled in Fulton County for the investigation wrapped up its work earlier this year. That panel is separate from the one that approved the charges on Monday.
Fact check: Some of the lies Trump used to try to overturn his Georgia defeat
From CNN's Daniel Dale
Then-President Donald Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House on election night November 4, 2020.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images/FILE
Former President Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn his defeat in Georgia in the 2020 presidential election was built on lies.
Beginning on Election Night in November 2020 and continuing into 2023, Trump has delivered a relentless barrage of false claims about what happened in Georgia. These claims ranged from vague proclamations that he actually won the state to specific conspiracy theories that were previously debunked.
Here is a look at the inaccurate things Trump has said:
Falsely claimed he won Georgia: In his speech on Election Night, Trump falsely claimed it was “clear that we have won Georgia” – even though it was actually clear at the time that the result had not been determined and that it was possible for Joe Biden to surpass Trump in the ongoing count.
Trump continued to falsely claim he had won Georgia even after the finalized count showed that Biden had won the state by 11,779 votes – including during the January 2, 2021 phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Trump pressured Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes.”
Falsely claimed there were tens of thousands of underage voters: Trump falsely claimed at a Georgia rally in early January 2021 that “66,000 votes in Georgia were cast by people under the legal voting age.” There is no basis for this figure. Raffensperger has said the actual number of underage voters in the 2020 presidential election was zero.
Falsely claimed there were thousands of dead voters: Trump falsely claimed in 2021 that thousands of Georgia ballots in the 2020 election were cast in the names of dead people. He claimed in the January 2021 call with Raffensperger that “a minimum is close to about 5,000 voters.”
That number, too, is not even close to accurate. Raffensperger said in 2022 that Georgia officials had found just four such cases.
When the Trump campaign identified specific deceased Georgians the campaign claimed had phony ballots cast in their names, its claims quickly fell apart under scrutiny. For example, CNN spoke in November 2020 to one of the legal Georgia voters the Trump campaign had incorrectly named as a dead voter. The living voter happened to have the same name as a dead person.
Rudy Giuliani says Georgia indictment is "an affront to American democracy"
From CNN's Sara Murray
Rudy Giuliani leaves the US District Court in Washington on May 19.
Alex Wong/Getty Images/FILE
Donald Trump’s former attorney Rudy Giuliani on Monday claimed Georgia’s indictment against him and the ex-President were “an affront to American democracy.”
“This is an affront to American Democracy and does permanent, irrevocable harm to our justice system. It’s just the next chapter in a book of lies with the purpose of framing President Donald Trump and anyone willing to take on the ruling regime,” Giuliani claimed in a statement.
Giuliani is charged with a RICO violation — the racketeering conspiracy that formed the basis of the indictment — and several additional felonies, including soliciting Georgia state lawmakers, making false statements to the Georgia House and Senate and the effort to put forward fake electors in Georgia.
Remember: This indictment is the fourth case filed against Trump this year. The former president, who is the current GOP 2024 frontrunner, denies any wrongdoing. In an interview with Fox News Digital late Monday, Trump claimed the charges filed against him in Georgia were “politically inspired.”
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A former federal prosecutor explains why some of the 19 defendants in the Georgia indictment may not go to trial
While the Georgia indictment names 19 defendants, including former President Donald Trump, former federal prosecutor Jennifer Rodgers says that not all 19 will end up at trial.
The 19 defendants named in the 41-count indictment include Trump’s lawyers John Eastman and Rudy Giuliani and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Rodgers also said she thinks it is “impossible” that the trial will happen within six months.
“It’s too complicated, too many players, too much evidence, and too many other criminal cases for the former president. I mean she’s not even thinking about the fact that the calendar is pretty much full at this point,” Rodgers added.
This is Trump’s fourth indictment this year. He also has ongoing cases in New York, Miami, and Washington, DC.
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Former Georgia state senator who testified in election probe says grand jury took its role "very seriously"
Jen Jordan, a former Democratic Georgia state senator who was the first witness to testify before the Fulton County grand jury, commended the jury for their role in the 2020 election probe that resulted in the indictment of former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants.
“I can tell you with respect to grand juries in Georgia, they really lead the process,” she said.
Jordan was asked about the faster-than-expected pace of the proceedings on Monday.
“Maybe there were two days that were planned to be chock-full of witnesses, but after two or three had gone, it was clear that the evidence, at least from my perspective, is fairly overwhelming,” she added.
“So … probably after two, three, four witnesses, you know, probably from the grand jurors’ perspective, they had heard what they needed to hear and really just to make sure that all of the witnesses that they needed to hear with respect to all of the charges included in the indictment, that they were able to get through it by the end of the day,” she said.
Jordan said the grand jury took a serious approach to their questioning.
Asked about specifics that she was asked, Jordan said, “They wanted to know more about (Rudy) Giuliani, why was it odd? How as this different than other Senate Committee hearings? I had to be very clear this was something I had never seen before, the fact that Giuliani and Ray Smith and the rest of Trump’s legal team, including Jenna Ellis, were allowed to basically take over the Georgia Senate and present in a way that was very one-sided, that other witnesses that could offer a counter weren’t allowed, and that with respect to minority party members we weren’t really — we had no clue what was happening.”
For background: In December 2020, Jordan was at the Georgia Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing about election integrity during which Giuliani, then a Trump lawyer, and other supporters of the former president spread conspiracy theories about widespread irregularities and fraud in the state. At the hearing, Trump’s team presented a video of what they claimed was evidence of fraud from election night ballot tabulating in Fulton County, allegations that were investigated by the FBI, Department of Justice and state election officials – and proven to be erroneous.
Jordan said she was in front of the grand jury first to “really kind of set the scene and kind of begin the story, because really from my perspective, what happened in Georgia was just the implementation of the overall plan at the federal level.”
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Trump was charged for violating Georgia's RICO law. Here's what that means
From CNN staff
Former President Donald Trump attends a campaign event in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on July 7.
Scott Morgan/Reuters
Donald Trump was indicted on more than a dozen charges by Fulton County District Fani Willis on Monday stemming from the former president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
The grand jury approved charges against Trump for a violation of Georgia’s RICO law – or the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act – which accuses Trump of being part of a broad conspiracy to attempt to overturn the election result.
Willis launched her investigation into Trump in early 2021, soon after he called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and pressured the Republican official to “find” the votes necessary for Trump to win the state of Georgia. At a campaign event Tuesday, Trump continued to insist it was a “perfect phone call.”
RICO is a statute the district attorney had spoken fondly of and used in unorthodox ways to bring charges against teachers as well as musicians in the Atlanta area.
In 2015, Willis was thrust into the national spotlight as a Fulton County prosecutor when she used Georgia’s racketeering statute to charge teachers, principals and other education officials in the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal.
After a seven-month trial, Willis secured convictions for 11 of the 12 defendants charged with racketeering and other crimes related to cheating that was believed to date to early 2001, when scores on statewide skills tests began to rise in the 50,000-student school district.
Soon after Willis embarked on her Trump investigation, she retained attorney John Floyd – known for his depth of knowledge in racketeering cases – to assist her office.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis arrives for a press conference at the Fulton County Government Center in Atlanta on Monday.
John Bazemore/AP
In addition to allowing prosecutors to weave a narrative, Georgia’s racketeering statute allows investigators to pull a broader array of conduct into their indictments, including activities that took place outside of the state of Georgia but may have been part of a broader conspiracy.
Those convicted of racketeering charges also face steeper penalties, a point of leverage for prosecutors if they are hoping to flip potential co-conspirators or encourage defendants to take plea deals.
More about RICO: Simply put, racketeering means engaging in an illegal scheme. It’s used in RICO to describe 35 offenses, including kidnapping, murder, bribery, arson and extortion.
Congress passed the RICO Act in 1970 to combat organized crime. Since then, the law has been used to target some of the highest-profile Mafia members, including Antonio Corallo, head of the infamous Lucchese crime family.
Reporting from CNN’s Sara Murray, Michelle Lou and Brandon Griggs contributed to this post.
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Trump says he will hold a news conference next Monday
From CNN's Alayna Treene
Then-President Donald Trump walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in September 2020.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he will hold a “major news conference” next Monday at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, during which he will present a report from his team regarding his false claims that the presidential election results in Georgia were rife with fraud.
The news conference will take place at 11 a.m. on Monday, August 21, he said. That’s just days before Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has said the former president and his co-defendants must surrender on August 25.
“A Large, Complex, Detailed but Irrefutable REPORT on the Presidential Election Fraud which took place in Georgia is almost complete & will be presented by me at a major News Conference at 11:00 A.M. on Monday of next week in Bedminster, New Jersey. Based on the results of this CONCLUSIVE Report, all charges should be dropped against me & others - There will be a complete EXONERATION! They never went after those that Rigged the Election. They only went after those that fought to find the RIGGERS!” Trump wrote on the social network Truth Social.
In a previous post, Trump had called the indictment a “witch hunt.”
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Trump calls the Georgia indictment a "witch hunt"
From CNN's Alayna Treene
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Columbia, South Carolina, in January.
Alex Brandon/AP/FILE
Former President Donald Trump further railed against the latest indictment he faces in Georgia.
He attacked Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis early Tuesday morning on Truth Social, a social platform, calling her “out of control” and “corrupt,” as well as arguing the charges are part of a “witch hunt.”
Trump, in an interview with Fox News Digital, had previously reacted to the indictment against him in Georgia as a “politically-inspired indictment.”
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Donald Trump and 18 others were indicted in Georgia yesterday. Here's what you need to know
From CNN's Jeremy Herb and Tierney Sneed
Former President Donald Trump on Monday was criminally charged for the fourth time this year in a sweeping Georgia indictment accusing him of being the head of a “criminal enterprise” to overturn the 2020 election.
The indictment from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis included 18 defendants in addition to Trump, 41 charges in total and 30 unindicted co-conspirators. It marks a key departure from special counsel Jack Smith’s charges against Trump for election subversion. Smith had only charged the former president in his indictment earlier this month, even as he listed six co-conspirators.
Willis’ indictment also went well beyond what transpired in Georgia as she used racketeering violations to charge a broad criminal conspiracy.
The 19 defendants have until next Friday, August 25, to voluntarily surrender, Willis told reporters late Monday night. Even as Willis is previewing a push for a quick turnaround to trial, she said – in response to a question from CNN’s Sara Murray – that she plans to try the 19 defendants together.
Read the takeaways from the Georgia indictment here:
Listen to audio of Trump's call demanding Georgia secretary of state "find" votes to tilt the 2020 election
From CNN's Marshall Cohen, Jason Morris and Christopher Hickey
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks as he campaigns at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, on August 12.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters/File
In an hour-long private phone call on January 2, 2021, former President Donald Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” the exact number of votes needed to overturn Joe Biden’s victory.
Trump also suggests that the Republican official should publicly announce that he “recalculated” the election results. Raffensperger tells Trump that the election results were accurate.
During the call, Trump also criticizes the US attorney in Atlanta, Byung Pak, calling him a “Never Trumper” without any evidence. CNN later reported that the call occurred after 18 previous attempts by the White House to call Raffensperger’s office.
Listen to the call and read the full transcript here.
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Key things to know about the Trump indictment in the Georgia case — and when the co-defendants must surrender
From CNN's Sara Murray, Jason Morris, Zachary Cohen, Maxime Tamsett, Tierney Sneed, Devan Cole, Marshall Cohen and Jeremy Herb
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, center, speaks in the Fulton County Government Center in Atlanta during a press conference on Monday.
John Bazemore/AP
An Atlanta-based grand jury has indicted Donald Trump and 18 others on state charges stemming from their efforts to overturn the former president’s 2020 electoral defeat.
The historic 41-count indictment unsealed Monday is the fourth criminal case that Trump is facing.
All 19 co-defendants must surrender by August 25 at noon ET, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis told reporters Monday after the indictment was released.
Trump and others “joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome” of the election, according to the indictment, which said they “unlawfully conspired and endeavored to conduct and participate in a criminal enterprise” after Trump lost the election in Georgia.
How this case is different: The charges, brought in a sweeping investigation led by Willis, cover some of the most egregious efforts by the former president’s allies to meddle in the 2020 presidential election.
Unlike the election subversion charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith, Willis’ case will be insulated from any Trump meddling if he is reelected in 2024; he will not be able to pardon himself or his allies of any state law convictions, nor will he be able to dismiss the Fulton County prosecutors bringing the charges.
Many of the efforts that Trump and his allies spearheaded in Georgia resembled plots in other battleground states President Joe Biden won, but the Georgia-focused effort featured some of the most audacious gambits by the former president and his supporters.
The indictment also included an additional 30 unindicted co-conspirators in addition to the charged defendants.
Willis, a Democrat, will undoubtedly face intense criticism from Trump and his allies, who have frequently sought to discredit officials investigating him by casting them as rogue political actors. Trump had already unsuccessfully sought to disqualify her, citing public comments she has made about the case.
Before the indictment was unsealed Monday, the Trump campaign accused Willis of “election interference” amid the 2024 GOP presidential nomination campaign
“The timing of this latest coordinated strike by a biased prosecutor in an overwhelmingly Democrat jurisdiction not only betrays the trust of the American people, but also exposes true motivation driving their fabricated accusations,” the statement said in part.
Trump is now facing 91 criminal charges in 4 criminal cases
From CNN's Tierney Sneed
The indictment in Georgia against former President Donald Trump is photographed Monday, Aug. 14, 2023.
Rebecca Wright/CNN
Former President Donald Trump has been charged with 91 crimes in four criminal cases that are happening in four different jurisdictions.
The new indictment returned Monday by the Fulton County grand jury accuses Trump of 13 crimes.
The Atlanta based prosecution is one of four criminal cases Trump is facing – two federal, and two state cases.
In the New York case brought by Manhattan prosecutors, Trump has been charged with 34 counts stemming from the alleged 2016 campaign hush money scheme.
Trump faces 40 charges in special counsel Jack Smith’s Mar-a-Lago documents case, after a superseding indictment was unveiled last month.
Smith’s separate federal election subversion case against Trump levied four criminal charges against the former president.
Here’s an overview of the cases and charges:
Manhattan prosecutors’ hush money case: 34 counts against Trump
DOJ special counsel’s classified documents case: 40 counts against Trump
DOJ special counsel’s election subversion case: 4 counts against Trump
Atlanta prosecutors’ Georgia election meddling case: 13 counts against Trump
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Who is Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis?
From CNN's Shawna Mizelle
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis watches proceedings during a hearing to decide if the final report by a special grand jury looking into possible interference in the 2020 presidential election can be released on January 24 in Atlanta.
(John Bazemore/AP)
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has reemerged in the spotlight after her office charged 19 co-defendants, including Donald Trump, regarding efforts by the former president and his allies to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
The indictments are a culmination of an investigation that has lasted more than two years and has resulted in multiple charges including conspiracy and racketeering, which Willis has a history of successfully bringing against defendants.
The Atlanta-area prosecutor, who has not shied away from prosecuting high-profile cases, presented her case before a grand jury on Monday.
Willis, a Democrat who is Fulton County’s first female DA, had been in office for only a day when the former president phoned Georgia’s GOP secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, on January 2, 2021, urging him to “find” votes to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
She campaigned on the premise of restoring integrity to the Fulton County district attorney’s office, was elected after ousting six-term incumbent Paul Howard and inherited a stack of backlogged cases.
Within a month, her office was firing off letters to Georgia officials asking them to preserve documents related to attempts to influence the state’s 2020 election.
Trump has vehemently denied wrongdoing, as have his allies who are also under scrutiny in the probe. The former president has lashed out at Willis, who is Black, calling her “racist” and a “lunatic Marxist” and baselessly claiming she has ties to gang members.
Asked by CNN in February 2022 about the struggle to envision a former president under prosecution in her state, Willis said, “What I could envision is that we actually live in a society where Lady Justice is blind, and that it doesn’t matter if you’re rich poor, Black, White, Democrat or Republican. If you violated the law, you’re going to be charged.”
Besides leading the election subversion probe, Willis has also brought anti-corruption indictments against Grammy-winning rapper Young Thug and his associates. The district attorney has spoken fondly of RICO – the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act – and has used it in unorthodox ways to bring charges against school officials and musicians, including Young Thug.
“The way she goes about any cases, she starts at the top and she really dives into it. She follows every lead that she can,” said Charlie Bailey, who previously worked with Willis in the Fulton County DA’s office and on the 2014 Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal case, where she used racketeering statutes to secure guilty pleas from teachers and administrators.
“Ultimately she will make a decision based on the fact that they will uncover,” Bailey told CNN in 2021. “And she’ll make a decision based on applying that pertinent law.”
