Trump, 18 Others Indicted in Georgia 2020 Election Case
ATLANTA—Former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants were indicted by a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, on Monday evening in relation to the former president’s efforts to dispute the 2020 election results in the state.
The 98-page indictment (pdf) charges President Trump with 13 counts, including violation of the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree, and conspiracy to commit filing of false documents.
Alongside the former president, 18 others were indicted, including his former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, his former attorneys Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, and attorney Sidney Powell.
Each of the 19 defendants faced a number of charges but were all charged on the RICO Act. A total of 41 charges were filed in the case.
“The indictment alleges that rather than abide by Georgia’s legal process for election challenges, the defendants engaged in a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn Georgia’s presidential election result,” Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said at a brief press conference late Monday.
She alleged that the goal of the 19 defendants was to allow President Trump “seize the presidential term of office” beginning on Jan. 20, 2021.
The district attorney said she intends to try all 19 defendants together. While the grand jury issued arrest warrants for the defendants, Ms. Willis said she is allowing defendants voluntarily surrender by no later than noon on Friday, Aug. 25.
President Trump, in a video published on his campaign website not long after the unsealing of the indictment, said, “Justice and the rule of law are officially dead in America.”
“This marks the fourth act of election interference by Crooked Joe Biden and the communist Democrats who are absolutely destroying our country,” he added.
President Trump’s campaign also released a lengthy statement alleging the latest criminal charges are a politically-motivated attack launched by Ms. Willis.
The statement labels her as a “Democrat activist” who supported a Democrat challenger to a Republican whose conduct she was investigating in connection with the 2020 election probe. A judge later ruled that that was a conflict of interest.
Ms. Willis, the campaign said, “bragged to left-wing media outlets about her efforts to take down Trump” and “raised a vast majority of her campaign funds by promoting her election investigation on social media.”
The district attorney’s investigation was “compromised by unethical conduct and political bias,” the campaign added.
Indictment
The indictment alleges that the defendants “joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump.” According to the indictment, the alleged conspiracy to challenge the 2020 election results extended beyond Georgia into other states, including Arizona, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
Democratic lawmaker invites colleagues to challenge President Biden in 2024 primary: ‘Take the chance’
Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., said anybody who wants to run to challenge President Biden for the 2024 Democratic primary nomination should “take the chance.”
Phillips told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that he “adores” Biden but wants him to “pass the torch” to new leaders.
“I would like to see a moderate governor, hopefully from the heartland, from one of the four states that Democrats will need,” he said.
He continued, “Anybody who wants to run, Joe Manchin, Cornel West… that’s why we have primaries because that doesn’t undermine the likelihood of returning, in this case, a Democrat to the White House. I’m actively inviting, encouraging to some degree, imploring, that people who are ready and know it’s probably time to do so take the chance.”
Fox News’ Lisa Boothe argued Democrats would “love” to “get rid” of Biden but realize they would be “stuck” with Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I saw a recent poll where even 50% of Democrats wanted a different nominee in the 2024 election. I think I’ve seen the number as high as 75%, right? So they’d love to get rid of him, but then you’re stuck with Kamala Harris and so that presents an interesting scenario for them. How do you get rid of both of them? I mean, Kamala Harris is the least popular vice president in American history, even less popular than Dick Cheney after he shot someone. So that’s saying something [and] that’s the challenge for them,” she explained on “The Big Weekend Show.”
Boothe added that the Democratic Party doesn’t want to encourage a third-party run because it could cost them the 2024 election.
Co-host Joe Concha said it was a “fool’s errand” for a member of Biden’s party to try and challenge him for the nomination because the DNC already announced the president would not debate.
“Joe Biden can run, and Joe Biden can win. And I look at this New York Times focus group, and it was done by Kristen Soltis Anderson, [who] I think is quite good at what she does. And they took 12 Biden voters, and they asked all 12 of them, this is 2020 Biden voters. Do you think Joe Biden’s a strong leader? All 12 answered no. Do you think he’s disappointing as a president? All 12 answer yes. Do you think he should run in 2024? All 12 answer no. Who are you voting for in 2024? All 12 answer Joe Biden,” Concha highlighted.
“People vote against candidates these days, not for them. And that’s what I think the Democrats are banking,” he added.
Donnia, a 62-year-old Independent from Illinois, told the Times that she didn’t vote for Biden. “I voted against Trump,” she said.
Claudia, a 28-year-old Independent from Florida, said she voted for Biden in 2020 because he was the “lesser of two evils.”