Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis opened the probe in February 2021, weeks after it was revealed that Trump had urged Georgia’s secretary of state to “find” enough votes to reverse his loss in the Peach State.
Willis had a press conference in which she stated that there was a 100-page indictment that names Trump and 18 others. Among those 18 included in the indictment are
- Rudy Giuliani
- John Eastman
- Mark Meadows
- Jeffrey Clark
- Sidney Powell
- Jenna Ellis
Some of the charges cited by prosecutors are
- Alleged false statements to the Georgia state legislature and high-ranking state officials, including Gov. Brian Kemp (R) and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R).
- Creating fake electoral college documents.
- The harassment and intimidation of election worker Ruby Freeman.
- The pressure Trump and his advisers put on Pence and top officials at the Justice Department.
- The “unlawful breach of election equipment in Georgia and elsewhere.”
According to msn.com, Georgia’s racketeering law is one of the broadest in the nation. The RICO which is short for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, allows prosecutors in Georgia to weave together a wide variety of alleged crimes, including violations of state and federal laws — and even activities in other states.
Prosecutors only need at least two underlying potential crimes in the furtherance of an enterprise. Plus, the law does not require a defendant to set foot in Georgia to be charged.
This isn’t the first time that Willis has used the RICO law to prosecute her defendants. A decade ago, she was part of a legal team that prosecuted schoolteachers in a standardized test cheating scandal. Not to mention her office is currently prosecuting rapper Young Thug on racketeering charges related to alleged gang activity.
“I have right now more RICO indictments in the last 18 months, 20 months, than were probably done in the last 10 years out of this office,” Willis said in an interview with the Washington Post last year.
Donald Trump and his crew have until August 25th, to surrender to authorities in Georgia.