Three Georgia Law Professors Weigh In On Trump's Indictment
Aug 15, 2023
39:59
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Three Georgia Law Professors, legal experts, discuss Trump's fourth indictment in Fulton County, Georgia for his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. They highlight the differences from his previous indictments, including state crimes, a criminal enterprise involving 18 others, and the absence of presidential power to pardon. The significance of televised court proceedings and the impact on public perception are also explored.
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Quick takeaways
The indictment of former President Trump in Fulton County for state crimes, based on Georgia's racketeering laws, presents a legal and political challenge as he has no power to make the case go away and Georgia's court proceedings are televised.
The inclusion of RICO charges in the Fulton County indictment offers the prosecution a wider scope to prove the conspiracy and establish the involvement of the defendants, increasing the chances of securing convictions.
Deep dives
Differences in state crimes and federal crimes
This podcast episode discusses the current indictment of former President Trump in Fulton County for state crimes related to his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia. Unlike his previous federal indictments, these state crimes are based on Georgia's racketeering laws, which have historically been applied more broadly. The indictment also includes allegations of a criminal enterprise involving 18 other individuals, including Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, and Sidney Powell. These state crimes present a different legal and political challenge for Trump, as he has no power to make the case go away, and Georgia's court proceedings are televised, adding significance to the public's perception of the case.
Detailed indictment and level of involvement
The Fulton County indictment stands out for its high level of detail, including specific emails, tweets, texts, meetings, and phone calls. It not only implicates the former president but also highlights the involvement of numerous co-conspirators. The level of detail and the number of co-conspirators named in the indictment shed light on the extensive activities and hidden agendas surrounding the attempts to overturn the election results in Georgia. The indictment's in-depth information reveals a different level of knowledge and participation than what was previously known publicly. It also emphasizes the importance of the discovery process in exposing the full extent of the events to the public.
Georgia's unique racketeering laws
Georgia's racketeering laws are significantly different from federal racketeering laws, which makes this case particularly challenging for former President Trump. The indictment includes a main Rico count with numerous alleged acts in furtherance of the conspiracy, some of which are not actual crimes in themselves. Utilizing Georgia's racketeering laws allows for a broader range of evidence to be presented in court compared to individual indictments. The inclusion of RICO charges in this case is a game-changer, offering the prosecution a wider scope to prove the conspiracy and establish the involvement of the defendants. These unique aspects of Georgia's laws add complexity and potentially increase the prosecution's chances of securing convictions.
Challenges of public opinion and legal strategy
The case against Trump not only unfolds in the courtroom but also in the court of public opinion. The challenges for the prosecution are to present the meticulous details of the crimes without appearing overly political and to walk the fine line between proving guilt and avoiding public perception that the case is politically motivated. Trump's defense team may argue that he genuinely believed in election fraud and was acting based on that belief. Proving intent and knowledge can be difficult, and the defense may raise defenses like mistake of fact or claim that he didn't care about the opinions of others. The outcome will also rely on jury selection, as different jurisdictions may have varying political leanings that could impact the trial's result. Despite the extensive evidence and potential legal theories, public opinion and individual jurors' biases will continue to shape the outcome of this case.
Former President Donald Trump has been indicted for a fourth time, now in Fulton County, Georgia, for efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in that state. While the alleged crimes in this case are similar in some ways to his previous federal indictments in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation, there are important differences.
First, these are state crimes, based in part on Georgia’s racketeering laws, which have historically been applied much more broadly than federal racketeering laws.
Second, and relatedly, the core of this case involves an alleged criminal enterprise, which has led to the indictments of 18 other people also involved — in various ways — in trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Third, these being state crimes, the president has no power to pardon or commute a sentence in this case — important when thinking about the possibility of a second term for Trump. And unlike the former president’s prior indictments in New York, Florida and Washington, D.C., Georgia allows its court proceedings to be televised. That could be a significant factor in how the public might process the indictment.
In this installment of the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast, Galen Druke speaks with a group of Georgia legal experts about what to expect from this case and what makes it distinct from Trump's other legal woes.