Reuters Trump at a campaign rally in Iowa on Aug. 12
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 17:51
Robert Chesal
foreign editor
Robert Chesal
foreign editor
You could almost say that it is becoming routine: today former American president Donald Trump has been charged again. This is already the fourth time this year. But this latest indictment, by the state of Georgia, is different from the others.
Last night, the Atlanta prosecutor charged Trump with thirteen counts. She accused him of being part of a criminal conspiracy to invalidate the outcome of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election. According to the indictment, he did this, among other things, by pressuring an official to violate his oath of office.
Compared to the other criminal cases against him, it will be more difficult to defend Trump against the Georgia charges. That’s because of the scope of the indictment and the leeway available under Georgia law to address a possible criminal conspiracy.
The previous charges
Even before the indictment was announced in Georgia, Trump was in a difficult position. In June, a special prosecutor in Washington charged him with endangering state security by illegally stealing secret documents from the White House.
In early August, another federal indictment followed in connection with his attempts to undermine American democracy by seeking to overturn the election results at the national level. Those efforts would have culminated on January 6, 2021, the day of the storming of the Capitol.
The very first criminal charges against Trump, dating back to March this year, are related to his payment of hush money to porn actress Stormy Daniels, with whom he had an affair. This charge in New York State may embarrass the former president, but is not expected to carry a heavy sentence if convicted.
The charge in Georgia is much broader than the other cases. In addition to Trump, 18 others are facing charges, including Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, and officials from the U.S. Justice Department and Georgia Republican Party.
By comparison, the federal indictment from early August, which overlaps in part with the Georgia case, only names Trump and speaks of six co-defendants not being charged.
The prosecutor in Georgia wants not only to paint a picture of a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy, but also to describe in detail how a group of prominent and lesser-known people sought to have the ballot box declared invalid.
Prosecutor: ‘Crimes blamed on Trump’
One of the most explosive charges in the indictment is illegally accessing voting machines in Coffee County Georgia and downloading the data contained therein. It is unclear who exactly is behind it, but some of Trump’s co-defendants ways to each other.
Trump and the others can only be prosecuted for offenses punishable in Georgia as a result of the latest indictment. But the indictment does mention similar activities in other states involving part of the same group.
Organized crime
The indictment in Georgia uses a RICO-wet(Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) designed to tackle organized crime. The law must make it possible to prosecute not only the errand boys of a criminal organization, but also the leaders.
RICO laws exist at the federal level as well as in many states, including Georgia. They enable prosecutors to charge all individuals within a company, each for his or her part, as long as their common goal is to commit a crime.
ReutersThe latest indictment against Trump and co-defendants
There is an important difference between the RICO law at the federal level and the version used in this indictment in Georgia. In a federal court, the prosecutor must show that the offenses have been going on for a very long time – months or years.
But that’s not the case in Georgia. There, a short-term collaboration with a criminal target can lead to a RICO conviction. This is crucial because the alleged attempts to invalidate the election results only lasted a few months at most.
Amnesty difficult
Because Trump is indicted at the state level in Georgia, he cannot grant himself an amnesty if he wins the next presidential election. The federal constitution only gives the president the power to grant amnesty for crimes against the country as a whole, not for acts committed against a state.
As president, Trump would also not be able to interfere with the work of the Atlanta prosecutor. If the case were federal, it might be because the Justice Department is ultimately answerable to the president.
Because of that — but also because of the narrower RICO legislation in federal criminal law — many experts expect Trump’s defense will to attempt to get the Georgia case transferred to a federal court. There he may have more influence on the case from the White House and his chance of acquittal, or amnesty if necessary, is much greater.
2023-08-15 15:51:57
#indictment #Trump
