Ms. Willis launched a new fundraising website for her political endeavors late last week, just before the grand jury’s decision was expected.
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 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.
Georgia’s prosecutors argue that the post-election challenges amounted to “a criminal organization” that committed crimes including false statements, impersonating a public officer, forgery, computer theft, computer trespass, computer invasion of privacy, conspiracy to defraud the state, perjury, and influencing witnesses.
The indictment alleges that the false statement occurred during three hearings before members of the Georgia General Assembly to “persuade Georgia legislators to reject lawful electoral votes.”
The indictment also alleges that the defendants recruited individuals to “cast false Electoral votes at the Georgia State Capitol.” According to the indictment, President Trump had sought the Department of Justice (DOJ) to say that the “election was corrupt.”
The indictment also alleges that efforts to have Vice President Mike Pence reject Electoral College votes were part of a criminal conspiracy.
Just as with an indictment filed earlier this month by Special Counsel Jack Smith, President Trump’s post-election challenges were described not as legitimate challenges, but rather a criminal conspiracy.
When President Trump called on the Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives to call a special session, the indictment alleges he engaged in the “solicitation of violation of oath by public officer.” And when Mr. Meadows traveled to Georgia “to observe the signature match audit being performed” it was an “overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy,” according to the indictment, because the “audit process was not open to the public.”
The indictment includes multiple unindicted co-conspirators suggesting more charges may follow.
Besides President Trump, Mr. Meadows, Mr. Guiliani, Ms. Ellis, and Ms. Powell, the indictment charged: attorneys John Eastman, Kenneth Chesebro, Ray Smith III, and Robert Cheeley; former DOJ attorney Jeffrey Clark, GOP strategist Michael Roman, Georgia’s alternate electors Shawn Still, Cathleen Latham, and David Shafer, former head of the Georgia Republican Party; Stephen Lee, Harrison Floyd, Trevian Kutti, Scott Hall, and Misty Hayes.
Document with Charges Earlier Posted
The 13 counts against President Trump correspond precisely with the charges listed in a document that Reuters news service reported earlier in the day. The outlet reported that a document listing those charges was briefly posted on the Georgia court’s website on Aug. 14.
However, later in the day, Reuters also reported: “The [clerk of courts’] office described what it called ‘a fictitious document that has been circulated online’ without specifying whether it was the one listing criminal charges against Trump. A spokesperson for the clerk did not respond to a request for further detail.”
Likewise, The Epoch Times sought clarification from the court spokesman but received no response.
President Trump’s campaign, in a statement issued earlier in the night, decried the case as another attempt to interfere with the former president’s third run for the Oval Office.
“Like Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, Deranged Jack Smith, and New York AG Letitia James, Fulton County, GA’s radical Democrat District Attorney Fani Willis is a rabid partisan who is campaigning and fundraising on a platform of prosecuting President Trump through these bogus indictments,” the statement read, referring to the three other indictments targeting the former president brought by Special Counsel Smith and Manhattan District Attorney Bragg.
Ms. Willis launched a new fundraising website for her political endeavors late last week, just before the grand jury’s decision was expected.
By Janice Hisle
