The indictment of Donald J. Trump in New York over hush-money payments to a porn star was a global spectacle, with the former president glumly returning to his old stomping grounds in Manhattan as TV networks closely tracked his procession of black SUVs on their way to the courthouse
In Georgia, however, there is another criminal investigation of Mr. Trump nearing completion, this one also led by a local prosecutor, Fani T. Willis of Fulton County. 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.
Her investigation has targeted a wide range of conduct centered around efforts to subvert the democratic process and overturn Mr. Trump’s 2020 election loss. 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.
Willis also is reported to be working on racketeering charges against Trump based on his having organized people to overturn the election not just across the country but also in Georgia. This is racketeering because racketeering means conspiring with others to commit a crime . . . those others are:
- His many lawyers who filed suits in several states attempting to overturn the results in individual states.
- The people Trump lined up in several states including Georgia to file phony Electoral College letters for submission to the Senate.
Both these activities required planning and coordination to pull off a “racket,” hence the racketeering charge.
Willis is reported to have scheduled a grand jury for the second week in May. District Attorneys typically will take no more than one or two days to present their case, give the grand jury a day or two to deliberate, then announce the charges. By the end of May, Trump will be facing another batch of criminal charges. He will have to come to Atlanta, go before a judge, plead, be arraigned, and possibly jailed.
Then, hanging in the background are federal charges from Special Counsel Jack Smith for (1) Trump’s role in the Jan 6 coup attempt, and (2) Trump’s theft of classified documents.