Trump indictment updates: Former president, 18 others indicted in Georgia
Former President Trump has been indicted for a fourth time.
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:
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.
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
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.
Defendants include numerous attorneys associated with Trump
In addition to Trump, those charged include his one-time personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, attorney John Eastman, former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows, attorney Kenneth Chesebro, former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark, attorney Jenna Ellis and attorney Sidney Powell.
The remaining defendants are Ray Smith III, Robert Cheeley, Michael Roman, David Shafer, Shawn Still, Stephen Lee, Harrison Floyd, Trevian Kutti, Cathleen Latham, Scott Hall and Misty Hampton aka Emily Misty Hayes.
Indictment alleges 161 acts as part of racketeering charges
The indictment alleges 161 acts as part of the efforts to overturn the state's election results. They include press conferences and social media posts that themselves might not be crimes, but are being charged as part of the overarching enterprise.
Co-defendants worked in 'furtherance of the conspiracy,' indictment says
The indictment describes how several of the co-defendants, including Kenneth Chesebro, Michael Roman and James Shafer, worked together from Dec. 11, 2020. through Dec. 25, 2020, in several states including Georgia and Arizona, to commit acts “in furtherance of the conspiracy.”
The alleged acts include Shafer reserving a room at the Georgia State Capitol in Fulton County, Georgia to gather "Trump presidential elector nominees," and Chesebro sending emails to Roman regarding Trump presidential elector nominees in other states.
The indictment also describes how the co-conspirators allegedly communicated with the Trump campaign about the Trump electors.
According to the indictment, Rowan instructed an individual associated with the Trump campaign to "distribute information related to the December 14, 2020 meetings of Trump presidential elector nominees in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to other individuals associated with the campaign and co-conspirator 4."
On Dec. 13, 2020, Chesebro sent an email to Giuliani outlining the “multiple strategies for disrupting and delaying the joint session of congress on January 6, 2021,” the indictment says.