Trump indictment updates: Former president to hold press conference on Georgia

Former President Trump has been indicted for a fourth time.

ByOlivia Rubin, Will Steakin, Laura Romero, Lucien Bruggeman, and Mike Levine
Last Updated: August 15, 2023, 1:11 PM EDT

After a two-and-a-half-year probe, a Fulton County grand jury has indicted former President Donald Trump and 18 others on charges related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

It marks the fourth indictment of the former president, who already faces federal charges in the special counsel's Jan. 6 and classified documents probes, as well as the Manhattan DA's hush money case. Prior to Trump, no former or current president had ever been indicted.

Top headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Aug 15, 2023, 1:11 PM EDT

Kemp: 'The 2020 election in Georgia was not stolen'

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who Donald Trump allegedly pressured to overturn the 2020 election results in the state, is defending the state's election process in response to the Fulton County indictment and Trump’s Truth Social post announcing a press conference on alleged voter fraud in Georgia.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp delivers the State of the State address at the state Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023, in Atlanta.
Alex Slitz/AP, FILE

"The 2020 election in Georgia was not stolen," Kemp said in a statement. "For nearly three years now, anyone with evidence of fraud has failed to come forward -- under oath -- and prove anything in a court of law. Our elections in Georgia are secure, accessible, and fair and will continue to be as long as I am governor."

He added, "The future of our country is at stake in 2024 and that must be our focus."

-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa

Aug 15, 2023, 9:35 AM EDT

Trump to hold press conference Monday

Former President Donald Trump announced in a Truth Social post this morning that he will be holding a news conference Monday at 11 a.m. in Bedminster, New Jersey.

He wrote that at the news conference, he will present a "Large, Complex, Detailed but Irrefutable REPORT" on alleged election fraud that took place in Georgia.

-ABC News Soorin Kim and Lalee Ibssa

Aug 15, 2023, 5:35 AM EDT

Indictment an 'affront' to democracy, Giuliani says

Rudy Giuliani, who served as a personal attorney for President Donald Trump, said the indictment handed up on Monday evening amounted to "an affront to American Democracy."

The indictment would do "permanent, irrevocable harm to our justice system," Giuliani, who was charged as an alleged co-conspirator of the former president, said in a statement.

In this file photo taken Jan. 6, 2021, then-President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani speaks to supporters from the Ellipse near the White House in Washington, DC.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

He added, "It's just the next chapter in a book of lies with the purpose of framing President Donald Trump and anyone willing to take on the ruling regime. They lied about Russian collusion, they lied about Joe Biden's foreign bribery scheme, and they lied about Hunter Biden's laptop hard drive proving 30 years of criminal activity. The real criminals here are the people who have brought this case forward both directly and indirectly."

-ABC News' Aaron Katersky

Aug 15, 2023, 12:38 AM EDT

Indictment centers on RICO charges

The 98-page indictment centers on racketeering charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

It charges 41 counts, 13 of which Trump faces, and alleges that Trump made 13 false statements in his effort to overturn the election results.

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