Trump & 18 Allies Charged With Fraudulently Attempting To Overturn 2020 Election In Georgia

Former President Donald Trump was indicted in Georgia on Monday along with 18 other allies for attempting to overturn the results of his 2020 election loss in the state.

After an incriminating 2021 phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was released, Fulton Country DA Fani Willis began investigating the former president.

Trump was charged by prosecutors under the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) law which is usually used against mobsters. Alongside his aides, he has been accused of running a “criminal enterprise” to retain power.

Defendants include Trump’s attorney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani; former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows; and Jeffrey Clark, a Justice Department official in Trump’s administration who aided this enterprise. Other lawyers involved include Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna Ellis and John Eastman.

In the almost 100-page indictment, nearly 161 corrupt activities are detailed, including his phone call, attempts to persuade Georgia lawmakers to overturn the results and appoint electors who favored Trump, harassment of an election worker, who was falsely accused of fraud, and more. It also cites an alleged plot involving one of Trump’s lawyers attempting to steal data from a voting machine company by accessing the machines in a rural Georgia county.

At a news conference, Willis explained that the indictment alleges Trump and his 18 allies with charges of engaging in “a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn Georgia’s presidential election result” and not abiding by the legal process in place to contest elections.

Defendants will be permitted to surrender voluntarily by August 25, according to Willis. She is seeking a collective trial for all defendants within six months.

Trump and his allies have alleged that the process is politically motivated. His legal team issued a statement saying they found the events “shocking and absurd.” They also alleged that the prosecutors “relied on witnesses who harbor their own personal and political interests – some of whom run campaigns touting their efforts against the accused.”

Trump is now drowning in criminal charges and legal fees. This indictment comes only two weeks after he was charged for conspiring to overturn the 2020 election by the Department of Justice following a long investigation into the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Article by Debadrita Sur