Donald Trump: All you need to know about the Georgia indictment
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Former US president Donald Trump has been indicted for the fourth time on charges relating to his attempts to overturn the result of the 2020 election in the state of Georgia.
A grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, returned an indictment late on Monday, charging Trump and 18 others, for violating election law and being part of a criminal conspiracy.
Trump now faces a total of 91 charges across four criminal cases – with this latest indictment adding a further 13 to his existing 78.
He denies all the charges in each of the four cases.
But here’s everything you need to know about the latest charges.
What happened in Georgia?
Following the US election result in November 2020, which saw Joe Biden win the presidency, Trump refused to concede to the Democrat victor.
In January 2021, in a telephone call to Republican Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s top election official, in state capital Atlanta, Trump asked him to overturn the state’s result.
On the recorded call’s audio, which was leaked to the public, he said: “I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state.”
An investigation was opened, which saw Georgia district attorney Fani Willis request a grand jury be convened, which ultimately voted yesterday to file criminal charges against Trump.
What are the charges?
Trump and 18 others are accused of an expansive list of charges in the Superior Court indictment document, including racketeering and conspiracy charges.
Racketeering – illegal business activities – is often associated with organised crime, and the charge marks the first time an ex-president faces charges used to convict mob bosses.
The charge list also includes forgery, filing false documents, witness intimidation and perjury.
Others named include former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Trump’s 2020 election lawyers Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis and Kenneth Chesebro.
What about the 2024 race?
The US constitution does not bar anyone from running for or holding office if they are accused of or convicted of a crime. It will be up to the Republican Party whether they select Trump as their candidate.
However, were he to be selected, the amount of criminal cases he is facing will likely affect his ability to spend time campaigning.
The Georgia indictment differs from the first election interference case – four federal charges brought by Jack Smith, special counsel for the justice department – in that it is in state court.
Trump would therefore be unable to interfere with the case, even if he is elected president, and cannot issue a pardon to himself. He could theoretically either dismiss the federal charges or pardon himself were he to be returned to the White House in November 2024.
How has Trump reacted?
Trump lashed out at Willis as a “rabid partisan”, and branded the indictment “bogus”.
In a statement, his campaign team said: “Ripping a page from Crooked Joe Biden’s playbook, Willis has strategically stalled her investigation to try and maximally interfere with the 2024 presidential race and damage the dominant Trump campaign…. combined with the intentionally slow-walked investigations by the Biden-Smith goon squads.”
His former lawyer and alleged co-conspirator Giuliani said the indictment was “an affront to American democracy” and would do “permanent, irrevocable harm to our justice system”.
He added: “It’s just the next chapter in a book of lies with the purpose of framing [Trump].”
What do the polls say?
According to poll results out Monday, prior to the latest indictment, the majority of Republicans want to see Trump selected to the party’s nomination.
He led the field on 52.7 per cent, as per pollsters at FiveThirtyEight, with Ron DeSantis on 14 per cent and former vice president Mike Pence trailing on six per cent.
However, following his previous legal troubles, the former property magnate’s campaign has continued to thrive, with a commanding lead over his Republican rivals.
Many of Trump’s supporters see the charges as politically motivated.
President Biden’s favorability rating is 40.4 per cent, with 54.2 per cent disapproving, while Trump is behind on 39.7 per cent versus 55.9 per cent unfavourable, per FiveThirtyEight.
What happens next?
Trump also faces charges from three other cases. These relate to retaining classified White House documents, claims of hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels, and Smith’s federal election interference charges. He denies all wrongdoing.
In Georgia, he must make a court appearance – which could be televised – by August 25, next Friday. Defendants are usually asked to enter a plea, while bail, fingerprinting and mugshots will also take place.