Former President Donald Trump was hit with a fourth set of criminal charges Monday when a Georgia grand jury issued an indictment accusing him of efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
The charges, brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, cite two Trump tweets referencing San Diego-based One America News Network that are called “overt (acts) in furtherance of the conspiracy.”
“Act 22” of 161 on Page 24 says: “On or about the 3rd day of December 2020, DONALD JOHN TRUMP caused to be tweeted from the Twitter account @RealDonaldTrump, “Georgia hearings now on @OANN. Amazing!”
“Act 100” on Page 46 says: “On or about the 30th day of December 2020, DONALD JOHN TRUMP caused to be tweeted from the Twitter account @RealDonaldTrump, “Hearings from Atlanta on the Georgia Election overturn now being broadcast. Check it out. @OANN @newsmax and many more.”
OAN leaders Robert Herring and son Charles Herring didn’t immediately respond to email requests for comment.
Prosecutors brought 11 counts against Trump and his associates, including forgery and racketeering, which is used to target members of organized crime groups.
Prosecutors charged 18 other people, including Mark Meadows, Trump’s former White House chief of staff, and lawyers Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, the former Chapman University law professor in Orange.
Eastman faces nine charges, including violating the state’s RICO (racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations) Act, soliciting violation of oath by a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree, conspiracy to commit false statements and writings, and conspiracy to commit false documents.
Sixteen alleged acts include mention of Eastman. Like Trump’s tweets, not all were illegal by themselves, but were said to have advanced a criminal conspiracy.
Among them:
“On or about the 6th day of December 2020, JOHN CHARLES EASTMAN sent an email to ROBERT DAVID CHEELEY, unindicted co-conspirator Individual 8, … and Georgia Senator Brandon Beach that stated that the Trump presidential elector nominees in Georgia needed to meet on December l4, 2020, sign six sets of certificates of vote, and mail them ‘to the President of the Senate and to other officials.'”
“On or about the 7th day of December 2020, JOHN CHARLES EASTMAN sent an email to RUDOLPH WILLIAM LOUIS GIULIANI with an attached memorandum titled ‘The Real Deadline for Settling a State’s Electoral Votes.’ The body of the e-mail stated, ‘Here’s the memo we discussed.’ The memorandum was written by KENNETH JOHN CHESEBRO to James R. Troupis, an attomey associated with the Trump Campaign, and advocates for the position that Trump presidential elector nominees in Wisconsin should meet and cast electoral votes for DONALD JOHN TRUMP on December 14, 2020, despite the fact that DONALD JOHN TRUMP lost the November 3, 2020, presidential election in Wisconsin.”
“On or about the 8th day of December 2020, DONALD JOHN TRUMP and JOHN CHARLES EASTMAN placed a telephone call to Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel to request her assistance gathering certain individuals to meet and cast electoral votes for DONALD JOHN TRUMP on December 14, 2020, in certain states despite the fact that DONALD JOHN TRUMP’ lost the November 3, 2020, presidential election in those states.”
“On or about the 4th day of January 2020, JOHN CHARLES EASTMAN placed a telephone call to Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives Rusty Bowers and solicited, requested and importuned Bowers to unlawfully appoint presidential electors from Arizona. During the telephone call, Bowers declined to comply with Eastman’s request and stated that he would not risk violating his oath of office.”
“On or about the 4th day of January 2021, DONALD JOHN TRUMP and JOHN CHARLES EASTMAN met with Vice President Mike Pence, Chief of Staff to the Vice President Marc Short and Counsel to the Vice President Greg Jacob in the Oval Office at the White House. During the meeting, DONALD JOHN TRUMP and JOHN CHARLES EASTMAN argued to Pence that he could either reject electoral votes from certain states or delay the joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021, the day prescribed by law for counting votes cast by the duly elected and qualified presidential electors from Georgia and the other states, for the purpose of allowing certain state legislatures to unlawfully appoint presidential electors in favor of DONALD JOHN TRUMP. During the meeting, JOHN CHARLES EASTMAN admitted both options violated the Electoral Count Act.”
“On or about the 5th day of January 2021, JOHN CHARLES EASTMAN met with Chief of Staff to the Vice President Marc Short and Counsel to the Vice President Greg Jacob for the purpose of requesting that Vice President Mike Pence reject slates of presidential electors from Georgia and certain other states during the joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021, the day prescribed by law for counting votes cast by the duly elected and qualified presidential electors from Georgia and the other states.”
“On or about the 5th day of January 2021, DONALD JOHN TRUMP placed a telephone call to Vice President Mike Pence. During the telephone call, DONALD JOHN TRUMP and JOHN CHARLES EASTMAN attempted to persuade Pence to reject slates of presidential electors or return the slates of presidential electors to state legislatures.”
“On or about the 6th day of January 2021, JOHN CHARLES EASTMAN appeared and spoke at a rally at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. During the rally, JOHN CHARLES EASTMAN made false statements concerning fraud in the November 3, 2020, presidential election and solicited Vice President Mike Pence to disrupt and delay the joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021, the day prescribed by law for counting votes cast by the duly elected and qualified presidential electors from Georgia and the other states.”
The case stems from a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call in which Trump urged Georgia’s top election official, Brad Raffensperger, to “find” enough votes to reverse his narrow loss in the state. Raffensperger declined to do so.
Four days later, on Jan. 6, 2021, and two weeks before Trump was due to leave office, his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent lawmakers from certifying Biden’s victory.
Willis also investigated an alleged scheme by the Trump campaign to subvert the U.S. electoral process by submitting false slates of electors, people who make up the Electoral College that elects the president and vice president.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing, and accuses Willis, an elected Democrat, of being politically motivated.
The court briefly posted a document on its website earlier on Monday listing several felony charges against Trump, but quickly removed it without explanation. Willis’s office said at the time no charges had been filed and declined further comment.
Trump has already pleaded not guilty in three criminal cases.
He faces a New York state trial beginning on March 25, 2024, involving a hush money payment to a porn star, and a Florida trial beginning on May 20 in a federal classified documents case. In both cases Trump pleaded not guilty.
A third indictment, in Washington federal court, accuses him of illegally seeking to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Trump denies wrongdoing in this case as well, and a trial date has yet to be set.
Georgia, once reliably Republican, has emerged as one of a handful of politically competitive states that can determine the outcome of presidential elections.
Trump persists in falsely claiming he won the November 2020 election although dozens of court cases and state probes have found no evidence to support his claim.
What Happens Next?
After defendants in Georgia are indicted by a grand jury, they are arraigned, which is the formal reading in court of the charges. Defendants are also asked to enter a plea. Trump’s attorney could ask the court to waive the arraignment, and he could enter a plea of not guilty without appearing in court.
Bail also will be determined. He likely will be released, probably in exchange for a promise to return to face the charges at trial.
Trump will have his mugshot taken upon being taken into custody, Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat told local media this month.
When Is Trial?
Trump is known for using the courts to draw out cases, and the prosecution could be further slowed by novel legal questions stemming from the unprecedented nature of the case. Willis said at a press conference she would seek a trial within six months.
Legal experts said a delay could benefit the former president, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the Nov. 5, 2024, presidential election.
Trump is likely to challenge the prosecution, claiming it was motivated by political bias.
Trump may try to move it to another part of the state, arguing the jury pool in Fulton County, which Biden won with about 73% of the vote, would be biased against him.
If Case Goes to Trial?
The process of selecting a jury could be lengthy, given the passionate views many people have of the former president and the amount of time jurors would have to dedicate to the trial. In the ongoing trial in Atlanta of rapper Young Thug, or Jeffery Lamar Williams, jury selection ran for months.
A jury of 12 people from Fulton County must all agree beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump is guilty for a conviction on any count. If the jury cannot reach a unanimous verdict, the judge can declare a mistrial.
If Trump is convicted, he would likely seek a new trial by asserting the outcome was inconsistent with evidence or contrary to the law.
Not Hurting His Campaign
Strategists said that while the indictments could bolster Republican support for Trump, they may hurt him in next year’s general election, when he will have to win over more independent-minded voters.
His lead over Republican presidential rivals has widened since the New York charges were filed in April, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling.
But in a July Reuters/Ipsos poll, 37% of independents said the criminal cases made them less likely to vote for him, compared to 8% who said they were more likely to do so.
Willis’s investigation drew on testimony from Trump advisers including Giuliani, who urged state lawmakers in December 2020 not to certify the election, and allies like Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who asked state officials to examine absentee ballots following Trump’s loss.
Republicans who have kept their distance from Trump, including Raffensperger and Governor Brian Kemp, also testified.
While many Republican officials have echoed Trump’s false election claims, Kemp and Raffensperger have refused to do so.
Raffensperger has said there was no factual basis for Trump’s objections, while Kemp certified the election results despite pressure from within his party.
Both defeated Trump-backed primary challengers and easily won re-election in November 2022.
Voters in the state also might be less receptive to Trump’s complaints than elsewhere. Republican U.S. Senate candidates who backed his false election claims narrowly lost runoff elections in January 2021 and December 2022, frustrating the party’s hopes of winning control of the chamber.
Trump has been mired in legal trouble since leaving office.
Apart from the criminal cases, a New York jury in May found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll and awarded her $5 million in a civil case. A trial is scheduled for Jan. 15 on a second defamation lawsuit seeking $10 million in damages. Trump denies wrongdoing.
Trump is due to face trial in October in a civil case in New York that accuses him and his family business of fraud to obtain better terms from lenders and insurers.
Trump’s company was fined $1.6 million after being convicted of tax fraud in a New York court in December.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Updated at 10:55 p.m. Aug. 14, 2023
