Next Up: Georgia

The next Trump indictment looks like it is coming this week.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: Fulton grand jury to hear Trump case early next week.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will begin presenting her 2020 elections interference case against former President Donald Trump and his allies to a grand jury early next week.

The timeline came into sharper focus on Saturday, when former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and independent journalist George Chidi separately confirmed that they received notifications they will testify on Tuesday.

[…]

Willis has long been eyeing racketeering charges against Trump and many of his allies for their efforts to overturn Georgia’s election results between Nov. 2020 and Jan. 2021. Past racketeering cases Willis has prosecuted have taken roughly two days to present to grand juries.

[…]

Incidents that could end up the subject of indictments include: phone calls Trump placed to Raffensperger and other Georgia officials; the sham elector ceremony; Giuliani and others’ false testimony about election fraud in Georgia; the harassment of Fulton County poll workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss; and the accessing of sensitive elections data from Coffee County in South Georgia.

CNN has more details on the Coffee County situation here: Exclusive: Georgia prosecutors have messages showing Trump’s team is behind voting system breach.

I recommend reading that whole thing, as there is no simple excerpt. The bottom line is that it appears that Willis will be pursuing a case based on a complex set of facts involving many persons. It goes beyond simply the call that Trump made demanding votes be found and includes fake elector activity in Georgia and access to electoral data in Coffee County.

FILED UNDER: 2020 Election, 2024 Election, Democracy, US Politics, , , , , , ,
Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a retired Professor of Political Science and former College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter

Comments

  1. CSK says:

    Trump announced yesterday at the Iowa State Fair that he would not be making any plea bargains in Georgia.

  2. Matt Bernius says:

    To understand more facts around this data breach (which happened after the election), here is an open WaPo article from last year on it:

    https://wapo.st/3OPLVVv

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  3. Scott says:

    I guess I don’t understand the process well enough. If they are still taking testimony, how is an indictment imminent?

  4. CSK says:

    @Scott:

    Willis is presenting the case to the grand jury, which entails testimony. Then the grand jury votes to indict.

    2
  5. gVOR10 says:

    DAYS SINCE LAST TRUMP INDICTMENT
    ______________12______________

    How long have we been expecting an indictment next week? I wish Fani would quit teasing and get to indicting.

    1
  6. Flat Earth Luddite says:

    It goes beyond simply the call that Trump made demanding votes be found and includes fake elector activity in Georgia and access to electoral data in Coffee County

    Two thoughts from a “reformed & rehabilitated”™ member of the commentariat:

    1. As I frequently noted in previous comments, criminals are not the best and brightest. Think Pinky vs Brain.

    2. The joke “dance like no one’s watching, but text like it’ll be a trial exhibit” is frighteningly accurate.

    And 48% of surveyed population thinks this Hamberdler ought run shit? What a bunch of maroons!

    8
  7. Sleeping Dog says:

    The probable Fulton Cty indictment will be a presage to similar indictments in Michigan and Arizona, less the RICO charges. Trump and his cronies tried the same game plan in those jurisdictions as well.

  8. gVOR10 says:

    @Flat Earth Luddite:

    And 48% of surveyed population thinks this Hamberdler ought run shit? What a bunch of maroons!

    I am constantly reminded that some political scientist, possibly Larry Bartels, said the dirty secret no political scientist wants to talk about is that the electorate are a box of rocks.

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  9. Flat Earth Luddite says:

    @gVOR10:

    Oh, c’mon. That’s vastly insulting to all the boxes of rocks I know!

    4
  10. charontwo says: