District Attorney Fani Willis of Fulton County, Georgia, directed former President Trump and 18 co-defendants until noon on August 25 to voluntarily surrender following an indictment that revealed many allegations in connection with their attempts to tamper with the 2020 election results, as reported in CBS News .
Willis expressed her wish to try each defendant during a news conference, and she hoped to start a trial within the next six months. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act of Georgia, a statute generally used against organized crime, was allegedly violated by Trump and the other defendants. Willis alleged that the defendants together orchestrated a “criminal enterprise in Fulton County, Ga., and elsewhere to accomplish the illegal goal” of keeping Trump in office. The defendants have to surrender before August 25.
A breathtaking indictment. Donald Trump and 18 of his associates charged for a criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election. Rudi Giuliani, Mark Meadows, Jeffrey Clark, Jeanna Ellis, and John Eastman were among those charged. They must turn themselves in by noon on Aug 25. pic.twitter.com/nuxfMao2pG
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) August 15, 2023
Willis’ extensive research into Trump’s attempts to rig the 2020 election led to the broad-reaching indictment. She refuted the notion that the probe had political overtones. “I make decisions in this office based on the facts in the law,” Willis said, as quoted by The Hill. “The law is completely nonpartisan. That’s how decisions are made in every case to date.”
In addition to Trump’s former attorney Rudy Giuliani, conservative attorney John Eastman, and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, the indictment names associate of Trump as defendants as well. Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department employee; Sidney Powell; and Jenna Ellis, two conservative attorneys who promoted unfounded allegations of election fraud, are also co-defendants.
Trump’s legal representatives, Drew Findling, Jennifer Little, and Marissa Goldberg, stated in a statement, “The events that have unfolded today have been shocking and absurd.”
“This one-sided grand jury presentation relied on witnesses who harbor their own personal and political interests—some of whom ran campaigns touting their efforts against the accused and/or profited from book deals and employment opportunities as a result,” the attorneys said in the statement. “We look forward to a detailed review of this indictment, which is undoubtedly just as flawed and unconstitutional as this entire process has been.”
Here are #Trump ‘s 18 co-defendants in the #Georgia indictment … https://t.co/cx88YUqJKP The indictment unveiled by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, following a years-long investigation. Those charged have until noon Friday, Aug. 25, to surrender. pic.twitter.com/qsWoKc3VBG
— Mick Ross (@mickster) August 15, 2023
For Trump, who is charged with 13 counts, including one for RICO, the Fulton County case might provide an additional risk. There would be no chance for him to receive a federal pardon if he were found guilty of any of these state charges. In many states, the governor has the authority to award pardons, but not in Georgia, where the five-member Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles, which is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate, is the only body with the jurisdiction to do so.
In Georgia, those who are convicted of a crime are not immediately eligible to petition for a pardon; rather, they must wait until they have completed their sentence before doing so, in accordance with the application requirements.