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Donald Trump Indicted By Fulton Grand Jury for 2020 Election Interference

On August 14, 2023, a Fulton County, Georgia grand jury indicted Donald Trump on 13 counts of criminal felonies. The charges revolve around Trump’s and 18 co-defendants’ efforts to overturn the will of the voters and interfere with the results of the 2020 presidential election. 

 

On August 24, 2023, Donald Trump surrendered at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia. As part of his release, he agreed to a $200,000 bond and certain release terms, including agreeing not to use social media to target or harass his co-defendants or witnesses who might appear in the criminal proceedings.

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.All 19 defendants, including Trump, are charged with criminal racketeering under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which ties together individual criminal acts into a broader criminal network and conspiracy.

 

The Fulton County, Georgia indictment was brought by a grand jury of everyday citizens convened by DA Fani Willis. DA Willis is a highly respected veteran prosecutor who has been investigating Trump and his allies efforts to meddle with the 2020 election for more than two-and-a-half years. 

 

The grand jury heard from many witnesses, including state officials who were asked by Trump and his allies to help overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Underlying Facts

There are 4 central efforts outlined in the indictment regarding Trump and his allies’ efforts to overturn the will of the voters and undermine the results of the 2020 Georgia presidential election.

These include:

  • Efforts to get Georgia officials to invalidate or nullify the will of Georgia voters, including by “finding” votes that did not exist

  • The scheme to get 16 fake electors in Georgia to cast fraudulent electoral college votes for Trump, even though Trump did not win the popular vote in the state

  • Intimidating, harassing, and threatening Georgia elections workers based on false accusations and in an effort to influence their testimony as witnesses

  • Tampering with county voting machines

Trump Charges

In addition to RICO charges, Trump is additionally charged with 12 other criminal counts, including:

  • Soliciting a public officer to violate their oath, 

  • Conspiring to impersonate a public officer, 

  • Conspiring to commit forgery with false electors, 

  • Conspiring to commit false statements,

  • Making false statements, and

  • Conspiring to file false documents

Trump’s Co-Defendants

There are 18 other defendants charged in the Fulton County election interference indictment. They include (affiliations at the time of the events):

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Trump Campaign and Administration Employees

  • Mark Meadows (White House Chief of Staff) 

  • Michael Roman (Trump campaign staffer)  

  • Jeffrey Clark (assistant U.S. attorney general) 

 

Trump Attorneys 

  • Robert Cheeley

  • Kenneth Chesebro

  • John Eastman

  • Jenna Ellis

  • Rudolph Giuliani

  • Sidney Powell

  • Ray Smith III  

 

Fake Electors

  • Cathleen Latham (also former Coffee County GOP chair) 

  • David Shafer (also former state GOP Party chair) 

  • Shawn Still  

 

Local Officials 

  • Misty Hampton (former Coffee County, GA elections director) 

 

Other Individuals

  • Stephen Lee (police chaplin)  

  • Harrison Floyd (director of Black Voices for Trump)  

  • Trevian Kutti (publicist)  

  • Scott Hall (Atlanta bail bondsman)

 

In addition to these 18 named individuals, the indictment also includes 30 unindicted co-conspirators who were allegedly involved in the crimes but are not named. While the identities of some of these individuals can be guessed at, they have not yet been confirmed. Those co-conspirators could be charged at a later date.

CRIMES

Each defendant is charged with a unique set of crimes, based on the allegations made against them. There are several different criminal statutes alleged to be violated in the indictment, including:

  • ​Violating the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act

  • Soliciting the violation of an oath

  • Conspiracy to commit impersonation of a public officer

  • Conspiracy to commit forgery

  • Conspiracy to make false statements

  • Conspiracy to file false documents, and filing false documents

  • Soliciting a public officer to violate their oath

  • Filing false writings

  • Perjury

Trump’s Onslaught of Legal Problems

The 13 charges Trump faces in this indictment are the first state law criminal charges that Trump faces regarding election interference. The indictment, however, is the 4th criminal indictment Trump has faced in recent months. The other three indictments include:

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