Former President Donald Trump was indicted for the fourth time late Monday night.
A grand jury ruled Trump and several of his allies should be indicted in relation to alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
Nineteen people were indicted in the 98-page document. Trump was indicted alongside Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Mark Meadows and others.
The former president was charged with violating Georgia’s “Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations” (RICO) Act, Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer, Conspiracy To Commit Impersonating a Public Officer, Conspiracy To Commit Forgery in the First Degree, Conspiracy To Commit False Statements and Writings, Conspiracy To Commit Filing False Documents, Conspiracy To Commit Forgery in the First Degree, Conspiracy To Commit False Statements and Writings, Filing False Documents, Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer, and False Statements and Writings.
The indictment reads, “Defendant Donald John Trump lost the United States presidential election held on November 3, 2020. One of the states he lost was Georgia. Trump and the other Defendants charged in this Indictment refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump. That conspiracy contained a common plan and purpose to commit two or more acts of racketeering activity in Fulton County, Georgia, elsewhere in the State of Georgia, and in other states.” (RELATED: d Jury Hands Up 10 Indictments In 2020 Georgia Election Case)
The Fulton County grand jury handed up their decision after hours at 8:58 pm. The decision was signed by the judge and filed by the clerk, who said the decision could be revealed late Monday night. The front page of the indictment showed the jury decided to hand up 10 indictments.
Trump has also previously been indicted on charges relating to documents retained at Mar-a-Lago, alleged actions pertaining to Jan. 6 and allegedly paying hush money to former porn star Stormy Daniels.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – AUGUST 14: Fulton County County Court Clerk Che Alexander arrives with documents for Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney on August 14, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. District Attorney Fani Willis has been bringing evidence before a grand jury, which today handed up indictments on alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state, though it wasn’t immediately clear if former President Donald Trump was named. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
The Georgia election investigation began over two years ago, with District Attorney Fani T. Willis launching a probe into Trump’s conversation with Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. In a January 2021 phone call, Trump allegedly told Raffensperger “to find” enough votes for him to win in the state, according to a transcript published by The Washington Post.
The Trump campaign issued a statement after the grand jury handed up their decision.
“Like Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, Deranged Jack Smith, and New York AG Letitia James, Fulton County, GA’s radical Democrat District Attorney Fani Willis is a rabid partisan who is campaigning and fundraising on a platform of prosecuting President Trump through these bogus indictments. Ripping a page from Crooked Joe Biden’s playbook, Willis has strategically stalled her investigation to try and maximally interfere with the 2024 presidential race and damage the dominant Trump campaign. All of these corrupt Democrat attempts will fail.”
Earlier Monday, Trump maintained he did not “tamper with the election, “arguing that those who “tampered with it were the ones that rigged it.”
This is a breaking story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
