Trump and Allies Charged for Trying to Steal Georgia Election

Donald Trump has been criminally indicted for the fourth time in five months, adding another batch of charges to the unprecedented heap of legal jeopardy the former president faces as he vies to win back the White House and make his problems disappear.

The latest indictment comes in Georgia, where Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has long been investigating Trump’s efforts to meddle in the state’s 2020 election results. Willis on Monday presented her findings to a grand jury, which voted to indict the former president — along with multiple allies involved in the plot — on a series of charges including a violation of the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, a serious felony.

Trump was charged with 41 total counts, including solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree, conspiracy to commit filing false documents, and making false statements and writings.

The indictment listed 18 others as defendants, indicted on a variety of charges. They are:

“A Fulton County grand jury returned a true bill of indictment charging 19 individuals with violations of Georgia law arising from a criminal conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in this state,” Willis said at a press conference late Monday night.

Willis launched her investigation in February 2021, focusing on Trump’s alternate elector scheme, the harassment of Georgia election workers, and pressure the former president and others applied to state officials. The pressure included a now-infamous phone call between Trump and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Trump told Raffensperger he could be in legal trouble if he didn’t help overturn the election, while asking him to “find” the nearly 12,000 votes he needed to overtake President-elect Joe Biden in the state.

Willis empaneled a grand jury a year after launching her investigation, after she slapped a cadre of Trump allies with subpoenas. Giuliani, Eastman, Chesebro, Ellis, and Cleta Mitchell — all of whom were involved in the effort to overturn the election — were asked to testify, as was Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). The investigation would later expand to include Trump’s efforts to subvert the election results in other states, with signs pointing to racketeering charges.

Willis signaled earlier this year that charges would be coming in August. “The work is accomplished. We’ve been working for two-and-a-half years. We’re ready to go,” she added in late July, noting that a decision would be made before Sept. 1. It certainly was.

Trump’s efforts to subvert the election results in Georgia are only part of the larger scheme to overturn President Biden’s win nationally. The Justice Department indicted the former president earlier this month over the plot to halt the certification of the Electoral College, charging him on four criminal counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States. The Justice Department separately indicted Trump on a slew of charges related to his handling of classified material after leaving the White House, alleging he possessed highly sensitive military plans and conspired to obstruct authorities trying to retrieve them, among other accusations.

Trump responded to last month’s indictment over his push to stay in power by relentlessly attacking Special Counsel Jack Smith while bracing supporters for the indictment leveled Monday. “I should have four [indictments] by sometime next week,” he said during a speech in New Hampshire last Tuesday.

Trump attacked Willis during the same speech, baselessly accusing her of sleeping with a gang member and labeling her a “racist” — a distinction he’s reserved for all of the people of color investigating him. These also include New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought a $250 million civil fraud case against Trump and his family, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who indicted Trump earlier this year on charges related to the former president’s effort to keep adult film actress Stormy Daniels quiet about their alleged affair ahead of the 2016 election.

The latest indictment means Willis is sure to join Jack Smith as a main character on Trump’s Truth Social feed. The former president called her a “rabid partisan” in a lengthy statement he posted shortly before the indictment was unsealed, alleging that she “strategically stalled” her investigation so it would interfere with his presidential campaign.

Trump’s portfolio of legal woes will be a central focus of the 2024 election. The Justice Department asked last week, for example, for Trump’s 2020 election subversion trial to commence on Jan. 2, right before the Iowa caucuses — which happen to take place on the same day, Jan. 15, as his civil trial stemming from E. Jean Carroll’s defamation suit. Trump has alleged the inevitable conflicts are part of a corrupt conspiracy to foil his presidential bid. “ELECTION INTERFERENCE!” he railed last Thursday in response to the date request.

Trump instead wants all of his trials to start up after the 2024 election, of course, giving himself a chance to take back the White House and do what he can to undermine them all.