The fourth indictment of former President may be the most sweeping yet.
The sprawling, 98-page case unveiled late Monday night opens up fresh legal ground and exposes more than a dozen of Trump91裸聊视频檚 allies to new jeopardy.
But it also raises familiar legal issues of whether the First Amendment allows a politician to try to overturn an election. Already, Trump and his supporters are alleging the indictment is the product of a politicized, corrupt process to hobble him as he competes for the GOP nomination to face President Joe Biden next year.
Here are some takeaways from Monday91裸聊视频檚 indictment:
THE BIG ONE
This may be the last of the Trump indictments, but it was the big one. The indictment lists 18 defendants in addition to Trump, all joined together by Georgia91裸聊视频檚 .
Many of the defendants aren91裸聊视频檛 even based in Georgia. The better-known defendants include former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and attorney Sidney Powell, who appeared in numerous hearings and on television . Giuliani and Powell were among the against Trump for his push to overturn the election that was released earlier this month.
Others, however, had to date escaped mention in charging documents, like Trump91裸聊视频檚 then-chief of staff Mark Meadows, who was Georgia election officials to 91裸聊视频渇ind91裸聊视频� him the votes he needed to be declared winner of the state.
Other defendants include Mike Roman, a Trump campaign official of fake Trump electors whose votes Congress could count rather than those of the actual appointed ones for the winner of the election, President Joe Biden. Another person charged is Jenna Ellis, who has become a prominent conservative legal personality after working on the Trump campaign and helping spread Trump91裸聊视频檚 false allegations of widespread fraud.
The charges also fall upon several Georgia players, including Ray Smith and Robert Cheeley, lawyers working for Trump in Georgia, and David Shafer, then the state GOP chairman, for serving as a fake Trump elector along with fellow co-defendants Shawn Still, then the state GOP finance chairman, and Cathleen Alston Latham.
A WIDER APPROACH
Critics may argue this is an overreach for a local prosecutor91裸聊视频檚 office. But the Georgia RICO statute gives Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis91裸聊视频� office the ability to construct a wide-ranging narrative by citing and charging other players in the alleged wrongdoing, even those out of state.
Some legal analysts think that Jack Smith, the federal prosecutor who filed the earlier charges against Trump for trying to overturn the election, didn91裸聊视频檛 charge people identified as co-conspirators in his case, like Giuliani, because he is aiming for a trial as quickly 91裸聊视频� and with as much time as possible before the 2024 presidential election 91裸聊视频� as feasible.
Willis on Monday night said she hoped for a trial date in six months. But her office is taking a notably different, more sweeping approach from the more streamlined federal indictment. She vowed that she would seek to try all 19 defendants together.
THE FIRST AMENDMENT ARGUMENT
Trump is expected to employ a similar defense in both the earlier federal indictment and the Fulton County case. He and his supporters contend he91裸聊视频檚 being charged simply for speaking up against what he saw as an unfair election and practicing politics as usual.
But .
Indeed, some of the 161 acts that prosecutors contend were part of the conspiracy to overturn may sound like protected political machinations in isolation 91裸聊视频� emails and texts about meetings of people contending to be Trump electors, tweets about alleged voter fraud, even the filing of a lawsuit in Georgia challenging the election outcome.
But the indictment argues they were all steps in what it calls 91裸聊视频渁 conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump.91裸聊视频� For example, it alleges that those fake elector meetings were part of an attempt to convince Georgia state lawmakers to 91裸聊视频渦nlawfully91裸聊视频� appoint the phony Trump electors, rather than the Biden ones they were bound to by law.
The indictment contends the tweets about phony voter fraud and even the lawsuit were part of a similar scheme. And, finally, it says some of the lies trying to persuade Georgia91裸聊视频檚 top election official, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and Gov. Brian Kemp to declare Trump the victor could be considered another crime under state law, solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer.
DOCUMENT DRAMA
A document briefly posted to the Fulton County Clerk91裸聊视频檚 Office website earlier Monday snagged the day91裸聊视频檚 proceedings and gave Trump a window to further disparage the case against him.
People were still waiting to testify before the grand jury when Reuters reported on a document listing criminal charges to be brought against Trump, including state racketeering counts, conspiracy to commit false statements and solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer.
Reuters, which later published a copy of the document, said the filing was taken down quickly. A spokesperson for Willis said the report of charges being filed was 91裸聊视频渋naccurate,91裸聊视频� but declined to comment further. A statement subsequently released by the Fulton County courts clerk called the posted document 91裸聊视频渇ictitious,91裸聊视频� but failed to explain how it got on the court91裸聊视频檚 website.
Trump and his allies immediately seized on the apparent error to claim that the process was rigged. Trump91裸聊视频檚 campaign aimed to fundraise off it, sending out an email with the since-deleted document embedded.
91裸聊视频淭he Grand Jury testimony has not even FINISHED 91裸聊视频� but it91裸聊视频檚 clear the District Attorney has already decided how this case will end,91裸聊视频� Trump wrote in the email, which included links to give money to his campaign. 91裸聊视频淭his is an absolute DISGRACE.91裸聊视频�
Trump91裸聊视频檚 legal team said it was not a 91裸聊视频渟imple administrative mistake.91裸聊视频� Rather, it was 91裸聊视频渆mblematic of the pervasive and glaring constitutional violations which have plagued this case from its very inception,91裸聊视频� said lawyers Drew Findling, Jennifer Little and Marissa Goldberg.
TRUMP91裸聊视频橲 MOUNTING LEGAL BILLS
The sheer number of investigations, criminal cases and lawsuits brought against Trump are unprecedented for a former president. The same could be said for the tens of millions of dollars in legal fees paid out to attorneys representing him and his allies, straining the finances of his campaign.
of recent fundraising disclosures shows Trump91裸聊视频檚 political committees have paid out at least $59.2 million to more than 100 lawyers and law firms since January 2021.
The threat posed by this colossal drain of resources has led Trump91裸聊视频檚 allies to establish a new legal defense fund, the Patriot Legal Defense Fund.
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