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.
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Aug 15, 2023, 9:18 PM EDT
Trump, 18 other defendants expected to turn themselves in: Fulton County Sheriff
Former President Donald Trump and the 18 others charged in recent Georgia indictment are expected to turn themselves in, according to the Fulton County Sheriff's Office.
"At this point, based on guidance received from the District Attorney’s Office and presiding judge, it is expected that all 19 defendants named in the indictment will be booked at the Rice Street Jail," the sheriff's office said.
Trump and the other defendants have until Aug. 25 to voluntarily surrender to authorities.
-ABC News' Luke Barr
Aug 15, 2023, 1:39 PM EDT
'Perfect irony': Giuliani faces RICO charge similar to one he popularized as prosecutor
As an upstart chief prosecutor in perhaps the most prestigious legal office in the country, Rudy Giuliani in the mid-1980s made use of a novel way to quell the scourge of New York organized crime -- leveraging a brand new, little-known federal statute called Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations.
Using RICO, as it's known, Giuliani managed to charge dozens of mobsters with seemingly unrelated crimes, all under the umbrella of one overarching scheme. At the time, it was a revolutionary use of federal law and it later served as a model for state and federal prosecutors around the country.
Rudy Giuliani walks to a senate hearing at the Georgia State Capitol, Dec. 3, 2020, in Atlanta.
Rebecca Wright/AP
As U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Giuliani's successful prosecutions of New York's storied crime families made him a media darling and launched Giuliani's political career. But now, four decades later, Giuliani finds himself on the other side of his own legal legacy -- facing Georgia state criminal RICO charges in the Fulton County district attorney's case against his longtime boss, former President Donald Trump, and 18 of his allies.
"This is perfect, perfect irony," said Anthony Cardinale, a veteran defense attorney who represented "Fat Tony" Salerno, the former head of the Genovese crime family, in 1986. "Giuliani is going to be sitting in a courtroom, pray to God ... 40 years after he started bringing these exact types of cases."
To read more about Giuliani's winding road to prosecution, click here.
-ABC News' Lucien Bruggeman
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.
