After more than 10 hours of meeting on August 14, the grand jury of Atlanta, Georgia decided to indict former president Donald Trump in the investigation of Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis into accusations that he sought to overturn the verdict.
The 98-page indictment prosecutes 19 defendants with 41 charges, including intimidation, conspiracy to falsify, impersonating public officials, and submitting false reports and documents.
The remaining 18 defendants are former Trump aides such as former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and two lawyers Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee will be in charge of the trial.
Former President Donald Trump at a conference in West Palm Beach, Florida on July 15.
Former President Trump’s legal team called the indictment `one-sided`, describing the events of August 14 as `shocking and ridiculous`.
In an interview with Fox News Digital late on August 14, Mr. Trump also said that the accusations against him in Georgia were `politically motivated.`
`This politically motivated indictment could have been introduced nearly three years ago, but was adjusted to appear right in the middle of my election campaign,` the former president said.
Karoline Leavit, a spokeswoman for the super political action committee (PAC) MAGA supporting Mr. Trump, said the Georgia indictment was `election interference` and an `unprecedented abuse of power.`
Democratic leader in the Senate Chuck Schumer and in the House of Representatives Hakeem Jefferies issued a joint statement, saying the indictment `described a pattern of repeated criminal actions` by Mr. Trump.
`The actions of the Fulton County district attorney, along with state and federal prosecutors, once again affirm the common belief that no one in America, including the president, is above the law,` the two lawmakers wrote.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, criticized Willis for `simply following Mr. Biden’s direction` to attack Mr. Trump.
`Justice needs to be objective and unbiased, but Mr. Biden has weaponized his government to target a leading political opponent to interfere in the 2024 election,` Mr. McCarthy wrote on Twitter.
When asked about the accusation that the indictment of Mr. Trump was `politically motivated`, Ms. Willis said the decisions were made `based on the facts and the law.`
Fulton County Prosecutor Fani Willis at a press conference on August 14 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Prosecutor Willis’ investigation stems from a phone call on January 2, 2021, in which Mr. Trump called on Georgia state election official Brad Raffensperger to `find` enough votes to reverse the former’s narrow defeat.
Georgia was then an important battleground state that contributed to determining the outcome of the US presidential election.
Willis also investigated allegations that Mr. Trump’s campaign sought to sabotage the US election process by submitting a fake list of electors.
Mr. Trump has been prosecuted three times at the state and federal level for allegedly falsifying business records to pay for unfavorable information in the 2016 presidential election, illegally keeping confidential documents and trying to overturn
The former US president has repeatedly criticized these efforts as a `witch hunt` and stated that prosecution decisions will not prevent him from running for the White House.
