The Georgia court indicted on Monday former US President Donald Trump, who is campaigning to return to the White House, and 18 other people for having allegedly tried to alter the result of the 2020 elections in this state.
is the fourth indictment against the former presidentcurrently favorite for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential elections.
Fulton County District Attorney, Fani Willis, charged the 19 defendants under a current law in Georgia on organized gang crime, which is often used against gangs, and provides penalties of between 5 and 20 years in prison.
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At a press conference in Atlanta, the capital of this state in the southeast of the country, the prosecutor announced that she was giving them until August 25 “to voluntarily surrender” to the Georgia court.
“Witch hunt!”, Trump said on the Truth Social network in reference to the court decision. “Sounds rigged to me! Why didn’t they indict me two and a half years ago? Because they wanted to do it right in the middle of my political campaign,” he exclaimed.
The prosecutor said she wanted try all 19 defendants, including former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, in the same trial “within six months”, but recalled that it is the judge who sets the date.
“Georgia, like all states, has laws that allow those who believe that the results of an election are wrong (…) challenge those results in our state courts.”the prosecutor declared.
“The indictment alleges that, rather than abide by Georgia’s legal process for election challenges, the defendants involved in an organized crime enterprise to annul the result of the presidential election Georgia,” he added.
The Donald Trump investigation
The indictment contains a total of 41 counts, which include false statements, usurpation of public office, document falsification and use of false documents, witness pressure, a series of computer crimes or even perjury.
The investigation started as a result of a phone call in January 2021 – whose recording has been made public – in which Trump asked a local official, Brad Raffensperger, to “find” approximately 12,000 ballots in his name that he needed to win the 16 voters of Georgia.
A grand jury in Atlanta approved the indictment after witnesses called by the prosecutor’s office testified throughout the day.
Prosecutor Willis was the one who created this panel of empowered citizens to investigate whether there was enough evidence to indict Trump, in particular for electoral fraud and interference.
This Monday night, Trump has once again attacked the prosecutor in a statement in which he describes her as “rabid partisan” serving the interests of Democratic President Joe Biden.
“Willis has strategically stalled his investigation to try to interfere as much as possible with the 2024 presidential race and harm the dominant Trump campaign” in the pollsaccording to the text, which does not explicitly confirm his accusation.
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To avoid possible pressure or violence, they installed security barriers in front of the court in downtown Atlanta where the investigation took place.
Unlike federal trials, the Georgia proceedings are televised, but the mogul, who owes much of his fame to a reality show, You could ask a lawyer to represent you.
Even if he won the 2024 presidential elections, if convicted, he could not be pardoned or have the prosecution drop the charges, because this is a case in the Georgia state courts, over which the federal state has no authority.
Trump has been indicted for three other cases: for allegedly attempting to conspire to alter the 2020 election result (in a case in Washington), for negligence in the management of confidential documents (in a Florida court) and for alleged hidden payments to a former porn actress to buy her silence (in a New York court).
AFP.
