Trump's legal advisers urge him to cancel press conference to refute Georgia allegations: Sources

Trump had announced a plan to release info on alleged election interference.

August 17, 2023, 7:30 AM

Former President Donald Trump's promised press conference to refute the allegations in the indictment handed up by the Fulton County District Attorney's Office is now very much in doubt, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News.

Sources tell ABC News that Trump's legal advisers have told him that holding such a press conference with dubious claims of voter fraud will only complicate his legal problems and some of his attorneys have advised him to cancel it.

PHOTO: Former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump delivers remarks at a Nevada Republican volunteer recruiting event at Fervent: A Calvary Chapel on July 8, 2023 in Las Vegas.
Former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump delivers remarks at a Nevada Republican volunteer recruiting event at Fervent: A Calvary Chapel on July 8, 2023 in Las Vegas.
Mario Tama/Getty Images, FILE

Trump announced the planned press conference with a social media post shortly after he and 18 co-defendants were indicted late Monday in Georgia. He said he would present, "A Large, Complex, Detailed but Irrefutable REPORT on the Presidential Election Fraud which took place in Georgia."

Georgia's Republican governor responded to that with his own social media post declaring, "The 2020 election in Georgia was not stolen. 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.”

PHOTO: The indictment in Georgia against former President Donald Trump is photographed Aug. 14, 2023. Trump and several allies have been indicted in Georgia over efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state.
The indictment in Georgia against former President Donald Trump is photographed Aug. 14, 2023. Trump and several allies have been indicted in Georgia over efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state.
Jon Elswick/AP

Campaigning in Iowa, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he agreed with Kemp. And so did former Vice President Mike Pence, who said on Wednesday, "The Georgia election was not stolen."

Georgia's 2020 presidential election has been thoroughly examined and re-examined. The results were confirmed in three separate counts, including a hand count of the nearly 5 million ballots cast in the state. Under Attorney General Bill Barr, Trump's own Justice Department looked into allegations made by Trump. So did the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

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