A grand jury is poised to deliberate on whether to indict Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 GOP nomination, in connection with alleged efforts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election in Georgia.
If indicted, this would mark the fourth indictment against Trump this year.
Legal experts closely following Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' investigation anticipate that she will invoke Georgia's RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act, which mirrors the federal legislation of the same name, according to the Wall Street Journal. Anthony Michael Kreis, a law professor at Georgia State University, remarked, "Signs are certainly pointing in that direction."
The RICO Act allows prosecutors to charge individuals with crimes committed by a group if they can demonstrate an ongoing pattern of criminal activity. The federal statute, which served as the model for the state act, was enacted in the 1970s to combat organized crime, particularly the mafia.
When Willis initiated her investigation in 2021, she enlisted the guidance of John Floyd, a prominent authority on racketeering charges in Georgia. Clint Rucker, a former Fulton County prosecutor who collaborated closely with Willis on the Atlanta school-cheating case, revealed that the Trump investigation team was sequestered in a hotel for a week to study the intricacies of the RICO Act. Rucker emphasized the significance of this move, stating, "It was a big deal because it wasn't a gang case."
Rucker expressed his expectation that Willis will employ the RICO Act in the Trump case, citing her prior successful utilization of the legislation in the school cheating case. Prosecutors are currently weighing a range of charges, including criminal solicitation to commit election fraud, conspiracy to commit election fraud, solicitation of a public or political officer to neglect their duties, and solicitation to destroy, deface, or remove ballots.
This potential indictment arises as Trump confronts three other indictments. The first was issued by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg earlier this year, charging Trump with felony offenses of falsifying business records.
Special Counsel Jack Smith subsequently filed two additional indictments, one of which pertains to the alleged retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago following Trump's presidency, while the most recent indictment relates to purported attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.
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