ATLANTA. Former President Donald Trump and 18 of his associates were charged in Georgia on Monday for their attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state. Prosecutors have employed a statute commonly associated with organized crime to accuse Trump, his lawyers, and aides of engaging in a “criminal enterprise” to maintain his hold on power.
The indictment, spanning nearly 100 pages, outlines numerous actions undertaken by Trump and his allies to reverse his election defeat. These actions include pressuring Georgia’s Republican secretary of state to find additional votes, harassing an election worker targeted by false fraud claims, and trying to convince Georgia legislators to disregard the voters’ will and appoint new electoral college electors favorable to Trump.
One particularly audacious incident involves a plot by one of Trump’s lawyers to access voting machines in a rural Georgia county and extract data from a voting machine company.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who brought the case, stated in a late-night press conference, “The indictment alleges that instead of following Georgia’s legal process for election challenges, the defendants engaged in a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn Georgia’s presidential election result.”
Among the charged individuals are former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Trump’s attorney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and a Trump administration Justice Department official, Jeffrey Clark, who promoted efforts to reverse Trump’s election loss in Georgia. Other lawyers who supported legally questionable ideas to overturn the results, including John Eastman, Sidney Powell, and Kenneth Chesebro, also face charges.
Willis announced that the defendants are expected to voluntarily surrender by noon on August 25. She intends to seek a trial date within six months and plans to try all defendants together.
This indictment marks the fourth criminal case against Trump in five months, adding to the complexity of his legal situation as he also positions himself as a potential presidential candidate. The indictment comes shortly after the Justice Department special counsel charged him with a broad conspiracy to overturn the election, highlighting how prosecutors are taking steps to hold Trump accountable for his actions following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
While the Georgia case overlaps with Trump’s recent indictment in Washington, it includes a broader range of defendants — 19 in total — setting it apart from the more focused case brought by special counsel Jack Smith, which currently only names Trump as a defendant.
The Georgia indictment alleges a more extensive pattern of criminal behavior, invoking language reminiscent of organized crime syndicates. It accuses Trump, his former chief of staff, his attorneys, and others of being part of a “criminal organization” and “enterprise” that operated across Georgia and other states.
The indictment concludes a tumultuous day marked by the sudden posting of a list of criminal charges against the former president on a county website. Although the filing was quickly taken down, it triggered a response from Trump’s legal team, who questioned the integrity of the investigation.
In response to the indictment, Trump’s legal team condemned the process and accused prosecutors of relying on witnesses with personal and political agendas.
Numerous actions detailed in the Georgia indictment, including Trump’s attempts to influence state officials and his claims of widespread voter fraud, have already received public attention. This indictment adds to the legal challenges Trump faces, both on the federal level and in New York state.
As Trump navigates these multiple indictments, he continues to position himself as a political figure, rallying his supporters and framing himself as a target of partisan prosecutions.
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
