ATLANTA — A list of criminal charges in Georgia against former president Donald Trump appeared briefly on the Fulton County website Monday, but prosecutors clarified that Trump has not been indicted in connection with the state’s investigation into the 2020 presidential election.
The list of charges appears to be in place, even though a Fulton County grand jury began hearing more witness statements Monday and hasn’t voted on charges either, a fact that has raised suspicions.
Shortly after noon, the Reuters news agency reported a list of various criminal charges that would be brought against Trump, including state charges of “extortion, conspiracy to make false statements and requesting a violation of oath of a public official.”
Reuters, which later published a copy of the document, said the list was removed shortly afterward. A spokesperson for the Fulton County District Attorney, Fani Willis, said the report on the filing of charges was “imprecise”but declined to provide further details.
Subsequently, the secretary of the court of Fulton County, Che Alexander, released a statement that only seemed to raise more questions, referring to the published document as “fictitious” but without explaining how it got to the court’s website.
The court clerk’s office said documents without an official case number “are not considered official and should be treated that way.” But the document that appeared on the internet yes i had a number of case.
Trump’s reaction to the “mistake”
Trump and his allies, who have said the investigation is politically motivated, reacted to the “apparent error” to ensure that the process is rigged. The Trump campaign sent emails attaching the since-deleted document.
“The grand jury testimony hasn’t even finished yet, but it’s clear the prosecution has already decided how this case will play out,” Trump wrote in the email, which included links to donate money to his campaign. “They are trying to strip me of my right to a fair trial. This is an absolute disgrace.”
It is currently unknown why the list was released as the grand jury continued to interview witnesses as part of the investigation into actions by Trump and others to allegedly overturn their loss to Joe Biden. It is also unclear whether the grand jury was aware of the publication on Monday. They still have to vote to define charges, so those listed in the post may or may not be brought against Trump.
FOUNTAIN: With information from AP
