A Georgia grand jury has indicted former President Donald Trump and 18 other individuals in an election interference case. Trump faces thirteen charges, the most significant charge being a violation of the Georgia RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act.
Among the additional individuals charged are former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (who led the city through the aftermath of 9/11), former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, attorney John Eastman, former Department of Justice attorney Jeffery Clark, attorney Sydney Powell, attorney Kenneth Chesebro, and pro-DeSantis attorney Jenna Ellis. The indictment in total is 98 pages long.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, during a late night press conference, said that the RICO charges faced by the 19 individuals entailed prison sentences. The defendants have been told they have until noon on August 25th to voluntarily surrender. She added that she intends to try all of the defendants together.
Willis declined to comment on the errant posting of a docket report listing the charges against former President Trump earlier in the day. She also declined to comment on if she’s had any discussions with Department of Justice special prosecutor Jack Smith.
In response to the news of the indictments, the Trump campaign issued a statement blasting District Attorney Fani Willis as “…a rabid partisan who is campaigning and fundraising on a platform of prosecuting President Trump through these bogus indictment… They could have brought this 2 1/2 years ago, yet they chose to do this for election interference reasons in the middle of President Trump’s successful campaign.”
“Fulton County, GA’s radical Democrat DA Fani Willis is a rabid partisan who is campaigning and fundraising on a platform of prosecuting President Trump through these bogus indictments…They could have brought this 2 1/2 years ago, yet they chose to do this for… pic.twitter.com/toEpQPymaF
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) August 15, 2023
The Fulton County Sheriff confirms that those indicted will have mugshots taken.
MUST WATCH: The Sheriff in Fulton County, Georgia just said President Trump will have a mugshot taken.
“We’ll have mugshots ready for you”, he said for when President Trump is arraigned in this latest WITCH HUNT out of Georgia. Nothing more than ELECTION INTERFERENCE! #Trump2024 pic.twitter.com/R2jwTwgdpP
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) August 15, 2023
The news comes hours after District Attorney Fani Willis published a charging docket before the grand jury had even voted.
The uploading of the docket report; the media knowledge of how many witnesses the prosecution was bringing to the grand jury; and knowledge of when the grand jury was voting on the indictment raises serious questions about the process, which is supposed to be sealed from the public.
This story is developing and will be updated.