On Monday (Aug. 14) night, an Atlanta-based grand jury indicted Donald Trump and 18 others, including his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, on felony charges, accusing them of scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. This historic indictment will be the fourth criminal case that the former president is facing.
The 98-page indictment details dozens of acts by Trump and his allies to undo his defeat in the battleground state. The 77-year-old was charged with 13 counts out of the 41-count racketeering and conspiracy indictment. The racketeering charge carries a sentence of five to 20 years, while a conspiracy charge can result in a minimum sentence of one year in prison with a variable maximum sentence. “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,” the court document reads.
During a press conference after the news was unveiled, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis announced that the 19 defendants listed under the case have until Friday, Aug. 25 to turn themselves in. "Subsequent to the indictment, as is the normal process in Georgia law, the grand jury issued arrest warrants for those who were charged,” Willis said. “I am giving the defendants the opportunity to voluntarily surrender no later than noon on Friday, the 25th day of August."
Trump spoke on the charges filed against him during an interview with Fox News Digital last night. “This politically inspired indictment, which could have been brought close to three years ago, was tailored for placement right smack in the middle of my political campaign,” he said.
He also added that Willis “should focus on the people that rigged the 2020 presidential election, not those who demand an answer as to what happened.” “Just like she has allowed Atlanta to go to hell with all of its crime and violence, so too has Joe Biden allowed the United States of America to go to the same place with millions of people invading our country, inflation, bad economy, no energy, and lack of respect all over the world,” Trump told the media outlet.