Trump and 18 others charged in Georgia election inquiry

• Posted on August 15, 2023August 15, 2023
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Former US President Donald Trump has been charged with attempting to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the state of Georgia.

It is the fourth criminal case brought against him in as many months.

Mr Trump, who is the leading Republican candidate for president in 2024, was indicted along with 18 other allies.

He denies all 13 charges against him, which include racketeering and election meddling. He has said they are politically motivated.

Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis first launched an investigation in February 2021 into allegations of election meddling against Mr Trump and his associates.

In a 98-page indictment made public late on Monday, prosecutors listed 41 charges against the 19 defendants.

Ms Willis announced she was giving defendants the opportunity to voluntarily surrender no later than noon on Friday 25 August. She said she plans to try all 19 accused together.

The list of alleged co-conspirators includes former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former White House lawyer John Eastman.

Others include a former justice department official, Jeffrey Clark, and Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis – two Trump lawyers who amplified unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud.

The indictment says the defendants “knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favour of Trump”.

The former president is accused of the following felony counts, including:

• Violating Georgia’s racketeering act
• Solicitation of violation of oath by public officer
• Conspiracy to impersonate a public officer
• Conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree
• False statements and writings and filing false documents

The indictment refers to the defendants as a “criminal organisation”, accusing them of other crimes including influencing witnesses, computer trespass, theft and perjury.

The most serious charge, violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (Rico) Act, is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison. 

The act – designed to help take down organised criminal syndicates like the mafia – helps prosecutors connect the dots between underlings who broke laws and those who gave them orders. 

-BBC