Donald Trump and 18 Allies Indicted in Georgia for Election Fraud
Key Highlights :
Donald Trump and 18 of his allies were indicted in Georgia on Monday, accused of scheming to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. It’s the fourth criminal case to be brought against the former president and the second this month to allege that he tried to subvert the results of the vote.
The indictment details dozens of acts by Trump and his allies to undo his defeat in the battleground state, including hectoring Georgia’s Republican secretary of state to find enough votes to keep him power, pestering officials with bogus claims of voter fraud and attempting to persuade Georgia lawmakers to ignore the will of voters and appoint a new slate of electoral college electors favorable to Trump.
This is the latest criminal case against Trump, following the Justice Department special counsel's charge that he was involved in a vast conspiracy to overturn the election. The Georgia case stands out from the other two federal prosecutions because Trump would not have the opportunity to try to pardon himself if convicted.
The indictment charges Trump with making false statements and writings for a series of claims he made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and other state election officials on Jan. 2, 2021. These claims included that up to 300,000 ballots “were dropped mysteriously into the rolls” in the 2020 election, that more than 4,500 people voted who weren’t on registration lists and that a Fulton County election worker, Ruby Freeman, was a “professional vote scammer.”
Other defendants included former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and a Trump administration Justice Department official, Jeffrey Clark, who advanced his efforts to undo his election loss in Georgia.
The indictment bookends a remarkable crush of criminal cases — four in five months, each in a different city — that would be daunting for anyone, never mind a defendant simultaneously running for president. It comes just two weeks after the Justice Department special counsel charged him in a vast conspiracy to overturn the election, underscoring how prosecutors after lengthy investigations that followed the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol have now, two-and-a-half years later, taken steps to hold Trump to account for an assault on the underpinnings of American democracy.
Though the indictment is centered on Trump’s efforts to subvert election results in just one state, its sprawling web of defendants stands apart from the more tightly-targeted case brought by special counsel Jack Smith, which so far only names Trump as a defendant.
Trump is campaigning and fundraising around these themes, portraying himself as the victim of Democratic prosecutors out to get him. As indictments mount, Trump — the leading Republican candidate for president in 2024 — often invokes his distinction as the only former president to face criminal charges.
The case underscores the gravity of the situation for Trump, who is facing criminal charges in four different cities. It also highlights the potential legal risks for his allies, who are accused of joining in the conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump.
The indictment serves as a reminder of the importance of upholding the rule of law and protecting the integrity of our elections. It is a stark reminder that no one, not even a sitting president, is above the law and that any attempts to undermine the results of a free and fair election will be met with swift and decisive legal action.
