What are the 13 charges against Donald Trump? Former President indicted in Georgia over 2020 election interference
ATLANTA, GEORGIA: Former President Donald Trump finds himself entangled in a web of legal troubles as he faces a barrage of charges stemming from various cases.
Most recently, on Monday, August 14, he was indicted for an unprecedented fourth time on charges related to his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
The charges, if proven true, could have significant repercussions for the ex-president's future, including the possibility of spending time behind bars, which will jeopardize his run in the 2024 presidential elections.
What are the 13 charges against former President Donald Trump?
The charges against Donald Trump are extensive and intricate. He is facing a total of 13 counts, including violation of Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, solicitation of violation of oath by public officer (three counts), conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree (two counts), conspiracy to commit false statements and writings (two counts), conspiracy to commit filing false documents, filing false documents, and false statements and writings (two counts), as reported by Vox.
The 13 charges have been brought forward following a comprehensive investigation by the Fulton County District Attorney's office, which included interviews with 75 witnesses and a special grand jury report detailing Trump's alleged interference in the 2020 election.
At the heart of these charges is the concept of racketeering, a form of organized criminal activity that involves operating illegal schemes in a systematic and coordinated manner.
To convict Trump of these charges, Georgia prosecutors must establish the existence of a racketeering "enterprise" and a pattern of racketeering based on qualifying crimes.
The indictment identifies Trump, along with 18 co-conspirators (both named and unnamed), as participants in this alleged enterprise. Notable figures among the named co-conspirators include Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, who were members of Trump's legal team following the 2020 election.
Will Donald Trump go to prison?
If found guilty of the charges, Trump could face severe penalties, including being sentenced to at least five years in prison and fines up to $250,000 or three times the amount of monetary gain from the alleged scheme to interfere with the election results.
"The indictment alleges that rather than abide by Georgia’s legal process for election challenges, the defendants engaged in a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn Georgia’s election result," Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said on Monday, August 14, while noting that all those named in the indictment are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
As per Willis, arrest warrants have been issued for the defendants and they have time till noon of Friday, August 25, to voluntarily surrender themselves.
Can Donald Trump still run for president in 2024 after the indictment?
The question of whether Donald Trump could still run for the presidency in 2024 despite these legal challenges is a matter of debate.
University of California, Los Angeles law professor Richard L Hasen, a leading authority on election law, contends that the Constitution's minimal presidential eligibility requirements, such as a minimum age of 35, do not explicitly bar indicted, convicted, or even incarcerated individuals from running for the presidency.
"The Constitution has very few requirements to serve as president... It does not bar anyone indicted, or convicted, or even serving jail time, from running as president and winning the presidency," said Hasen to CNN.
However, legal experts have highlighted the 14th Amendment's "disqualification clause" as a potential constitutional avenue to prevent Trump from holding public office, including the presidency, if convicted. This clause disqualifies individuals engaged in insurrection, rebellion, or aiding enemies of the Nation from holding office.
Anthony Michael Kreis, an assistant professor of law at Georgia State University, emphasized the ongoing debate regarding the clause's enforceability.
"There’s a big open debate over whether that element of the 14th Amendment is self-executing... And that’s a debate that the legal academies are currently having now, we have no answer for that," stated Kreis.
What are the next steps after Donald Trump's indictment in Georgia?
As the legal process unfolds, many questions remain unanswered, and the next steps in Donald Trump's case remain shrouded in uncertainty.
Having said that, if convicted, Trump would need to be processed by authorities in Fulton County, with his lawyers likely coordinating his surrender. The legal proceedings would involve steps such as a preliminary hearing to determine the case's viability and whether there is probable cause to proceed.
The timeline of these proceedings could potentially extend into the 2024 campaign season, raising complex questions about how the legal issues might interact with potential political aspirations, according to 11Alive.
In the context of a potential 2024 election victory for Trump, unresolved federal charges could become a moot point due to the Department of Justice's policy against indicting sitting presidents.
However, the fate of state charges in the New York and Georgia cases remains uncertain. If Trump were to be convicted of any charges, a constitutional dilemma would arise of whether a convicted president could possibly pardon himself, as per CNN.