Tag: Georgia

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Crime Donald Trump Elections

Legal Expert: Trump Provided Proof Of ‘Criminal Intent’ For Georgia Prosecutor At Town Hall

Amidst all of the other crazy things he said at Wednesday evening’s CNN town hall, failed former president Donald Trump also gave Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis new evidence she can use against the ex-president as she considers whether or not to indict him for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Legal analyst and Brookings Governance senior fellow Norm Eisen was a guest on CNN’s “News Central” Friday, and he told host host Jim Scuitto that Trump provided proof of his “criminal intent.”

During the town hall, moderator Kaitlan Collins asked Trump, “Given the fact that there are indictments expected to come in that case this summer — is that a call you would make again today?”

The indicted former president replied, “Yeah, I called questioning the election. I thought it was a rigged election. I thought it had a lot of problems. Listen to this: There are like seven lawyers on the call…we’re having a normal call, nobody said, ‘Oh, gee, he shouldn’t have said that.'”

Collins fact-checked Trump, noting, “You asked him to find the votes.”

That led Trump to begin shouting: “I didn’t ask him to find anything! I said you owe me votes because the election was rigged!”

Eisen was asked by Sciutto, “Tell me how that impacts the investigation in Georgia.”

The attorney and ethics expert replied, “It’s the most important kind of proof for a prosecutor, Jim. Intent proof. Whatever he believed, once the election had been certified, he can’t demand that the Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger just find 11,780 votes. It’s vigilante justice. Think of it this way: If I believed the bank owed me $11, 780, and I went in there and threatened the teller, ‘Give me my $11,780’ — even if I believe it belongs to me — you can’t do that, and you can’t do that in an election.”

Sciutto: “You can’t say ‘You owe me that money;’ you can’t say, ‘You owe me those votes.'”

Willis is expected to announce whether she will indict Trump sometime this summer.

 

Categories
Crime Donald Trump Elections

New Court Filing Suggests Georgia Criminal Case Against Trump Is Gaining Momentum

Earlier this week, Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis filed a motion in court that would disqualify one of the attorneys representing 10 of the fake Georgia electors who attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the Peach State, a move that is “ominous for the defense lawyers involved — and signals accelerating accountability for fake elector ringleaders,” according to legal analyst Norman Eisen.

In a column he wrote for MSNBC, Eisen notes that the court filing alleges attorney Kimberly Bourroughs Debrow represents an elector who violated Georgia election law.

“It’s not clear whether that possible offense relates to the fake electoral slates or something else. In either event, the development could serve as an important breakthrough for the district attorney,” Eisen explains.

Nor is the motion encouraging for Trump.

Willis appears to be gathering momentum. Trump already faces prosecution in New York and, once Willis secures her cooperators, a Georgia indictment may not be far behind.

Eisen also reminds readers that “This is just the latest example of lawyers tied to the Trump probes being accused of potential wrongdoing,” adding:

Thankfully, prosecutors and the courts are well equipped to handle these problems as they arise. Willis has done just that here and — given Judge Robert McBurney’s careful consideration of the case thus far — we are confident that he will get to the bottom of the matter. Justice demands nothing less.

Trump has already been indicted in Manhattan on charges of falsifying business records. But the Georgia investigation is a much greater threat to him, if only because it would involve racketeering charges that would enhance any potential sentence he receives if he’s found guilty in the state.

There’s also the looming specter of what Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith will find regarding Trump’s possible culpability for what took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, along with potential espionage charges in response to the failed former president’s stealing of classified documents which he later stored at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

The next few months promise to be the worst of Donald Trump’s life, and few people are more deserving of getting pelted with a giant dose of karma than the twice-impeached former POTUS.

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Crime Donald Trump Elections

Georgia DA Likely To ‘Go Big’ With Indictment Of Trump For Election Crimes: Report

Having already been indicted in Manhattan on 34 counts of falsifying financial records related to his paying hush money to Stormy Daniels, failed former president Donald Trump and his attorneys are now anxiously expecting the next bad legal news will come from Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis.

Unlike the Manhattan case, according to The New York Times, the Georgia one would be far more complex and present an even greater threat to the ex-president.

“While nothing is certain, there are numerous signs that she may go big, with a more kaleidoscopic indictment charging not only Mr. Trump, but perhaps a dozen or more of his allies. Nearly 20 people are already known to have been told that they are targets who could face charges, including Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s former personal lawyer, and David Shafer, the head of the Georgia Republican Party.”

One of the most troubling aspects of the Georgia case is that it’s likely to involve charges of racketeering, which would enhance any penalties for those who are found guilty.

“The wide scope of the investigation has been evident for months, and Ms. Willis has said that seeking an indictment under the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, statute is an option that she is considering. (Willis) may do so after a new grand jury begins its work in the second week of May, though nothing is set in stone. Typically, presenting such cases to a regular grand jury is a short process that takes a day or two.”

And Willis has already hinted that she believes RICO applies to Trump and those who tried to help him overturn the results of the last presidential election.

“RICO is a tool that allows a prosecutor’s office or law enforcement to tell the whole story. And so we use it as a tool so that they can have all the information they need to make a wise decision.”

Categories
Crime Donald Trump Elections

Trump Had Better Prepare Himself For ‘Much More Serious Charges’ In Georgia: Report

While the 34-count indictment handed down by a grand jury in Manhattan is currently making the headlines, failed one-term, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump faces much greater legal peril — including decades behind bars — in the state of Georgia.

Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis certainly understands that her investigation is serious business and is taking every precaution, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Willis travels with a security detail and has equipped some members of her team with bulletproof vests and keychains with panic buttons. Early last year, she urged the FBI to conduct a risk assessment of the Fulton courthouse and government center after Trump called for similar large-scale protests against “prosecutorial misconduct” during a political rally. A few months later, the Fulton Sheriff’s office blocked off vehicle traffic on the streets surrounding the courthouse the day members of a special grand jury were selected and deployed a SWAT team to protect jurors as they returned to their cars hours later. It also assigned heavily armed officers to guard the courthouse steps and a bomb-sniffing dog the day a key witness, Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, arrived to testify.

Charles Pierce of Esquire notes that even if Trump does manage to slither out of being convicted in New York, the stakes in the Peach State are significantly higher.

And, even if the former president* were to win in New York, so what? Willis’ charges are far more serious than Bragg’s are. In Atlanta, the former president* may be indicted for crimes against the republic, for offenses against the idea of popular democracy. That is also Jack Smith’s brief for the DOJ, an investigation that looms like a giant Dust Bowl cloud behind these state prosecutions. Time has come today, in the immortal words of the Chambers Brothers. There are things to…realize.

 

Categories
Crime Donald Trump Elections

Georgia Grand Jury Recommends Multiple Indictments In 2020 Election Fraud Case

A special grand jury impaneled in Fulton County, Georgia is recommending multiple indictments for crimes connected to the 2020 election that former president Donald Trump and his allies tried to have overturned.

The New York Times spoke with Emily Kohrs, who served as forewoman of the grand jury. While she refused to give the names of those suggested for criminal indictment because the full report remains under seal.

However, when Kohrs was asked if Trump was among those named, she responded:

“You’re not going to be shocked. It’s not rocket science.”

The Times also reports:

“The investigation in Atlanta has been seen as one of the most significant legal threats to Mr. Trump as he begins another run for the presidency. In November, the Justice Department named a special counsel, Jack Smith, to oversee two Trump-related criminal investigations. And last month, the Manhattan district attorney’s office began presenting evidence to a grand jury on whether Mr. Trump paid hush money to a porn star during his 2016 presidential campaign, laying the groundwork for potential criminal charges against the former president in the coming months.”

Kohrs also revealed that the grand jury made one of their main focuses the call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which he urged the election supervisor to “find” nearly 12,000 additional ballots that would allow the disgraced ex-president to declare victory in the Peach State.

And Kohrs added:

“I will tell you that if the judge releases the recommendations, it is not going to be some giant plot twist. You probably have a fair idea of what may be on there. I’m trying very hard to say that delicately.”

Another grand jury will have to formally indict anyone recommended by the special grand jury, which served as an investigative body to gather evidence and made suggestions to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.