(LifeSiteNews) — A Georgia grand jury formally indicted former U.S. President Donald Trump Monday night, just hours after the court sparked confusion and outrage after posting and then abruptly deleting a litany of charges apparently filed against him.
The Fulton County grand jury turned in its 98-page indictment late Monday night, charging Trump and 18 allies with 41 counts in connection with Trump’s alleged attempts to pressure Georgia officials into tilting the 2020 election results in his favor – a claim his supporters have argued is inaccurate, and that Trump simply sought to identify and toss out illegal ballots.
Prosecutors utilized a racketeering statute which the Associated Press noted is “normally associated with mobsters” to bring the charges.
In a news conference late Monday night, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said the “indictment alleges that rather than abide by Georgia’s legal process for election challenges, the defendants engaged in a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn Georgia’s presidential election result.”
In addition to Trump, the other individuals charged in the indictment are: Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Ken Chesebro, Jeffrey Clark, Ray Stallings Smith III, Robert Cheeley, Mike Roman, David Shafer, Shawn Micah Tresher Still, Stephen Lee, Harrison Floyd, Trevian Kutti, Cathleen Latham, Scott Hall, and Misty Hampton.
Trump and his associates are reportedly expected to voluntarily surrender by noon on August 25.
Donald Trump has suggested a 6-week abortion ban is ”too harsh”, attacking Gov. Ron DeSantis for his bill protecting innocent human life after 6 weeks.
Obviously pro-lifers wish to protect all human life from conception with outright abortion bans.
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The former president said he is ”looking at all alternatives” when asked if he would support such a 6-week ban, making this a crucial opportunity for pro-life voters to make their views known to him in no uncertain terms.
“He has to do what he has to do,” Trump said about Gov. DeSantis’ abortion bill. “If you look at what DeSantis did, a lot of people don’t even know if he knew what he was doing. But he signed six weeks, and many people within the pro-life movement feel that that was too harsh.”
Anyone truly in the pro-life movement thinking the ban is too harsh must mean it’s too harsh on those babies less than 6-weeks who can still be murdered.
Mr. Trump’s outlandish claim about anyone in the pro-life movement opposing the ban is doubtful to say the least, but there was more to follow in the interview.
When pressed on whether he thought the bill was ”too harsh”, Trump would not answer directly, instead saying: ”I’m looking at all alternatives. I’m looking at many alternatives. But I was able to get us to the table by terminating Roe v. Wade. That’s the most important thing that’s ever happened for the pro-life movement.”
The former president is correct in saying the overturning of Roe v. Wade was a monumental step for the pro-life movement, but it should only be the beginning of banning the killing of babies in the womb entirely.
Donald Trump’s belief that even a 6-week abortion ban is extreme spells trouble for every citizen concerned about ending abortion, which is why we need you to take part in this urgent petition to him.
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Our true loyalty is to innocent human beings facing death, none more so than those in the womb, and any candidate who prevaricates about something so important to building a civilized society has to be corrected.
We urge all Republican candidates to advocate for a total ban on abortion, without any exceptions – not just at 6-week’s gestation as an incremental measure.
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MORE INFORMATION:
Trump distances himself from 6-week abortion ban by DeSantis: ‘Too harsh’ – LifeSiteNews
Willis has said she intends to try the defendants as a group, and is looking to set a trial date in just six months – however, NBC pointed out that “other cases in the same jurisdiction that involved violations of the state’s racketeering law have taken much longer to go [to] trial.”
The move to indict Trump and his allies came just hours after a widely-publicized snafu in which the Fulton County Court published and quickly retracted a document seemingly listing myriad charges against Trump, LifeSiteNews previously reported. Dated August 14, the document included a case number and listed 12 felony charges, including “solicitation of violation of oath by public officer,” “conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree,” and racketeering.
READ: Georgia court sparks outrage and confusion after posting and removing charges against Trump
In a scathing statement, Trump’s legal team argued the publication of the document “was not a simple administrative mistake” but was, in actuality, “emblematic of the pervasive and glaring constitutional violations which have plagued this case from its very inception.”
The Monday night indictment marks the fourth for the embattled former president, who remains the chief frontrunner in the Republican contest for the presidency in 2024.
While supporters of the former president largely view the indictments against him as politically motivated prosecutions – and Trump’s commanding lead over other Republican hopefuls has not been shaken – it remains to be seen whether the criminal charges could significantly weaken his bid to regain office.
Political analysts have previously suggested that Trump could theoretically pardon himself if he is convicted of crimes and then re-elected in 2024, however the particular charges in Georgia would seem to preclude a presidential pardon in the event of a conviction.
Axios pointed out that, “[i]n Georgia, the power to pardon is vested under the state constitution to a Board of Pardons and Paroles, which requires that a sentence be completed at least five years prior to applying for a pardon.”
In an official statement released late August 14, Trump’s campaign said the fourth and latest indictment is “un-American and wrong,” presenting “a grave threat to American democracy.”
Statement from the Trump Campaign pic.twitter.com/etg0I5T1zv
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 15, 2023
“They are taking away President Trump’s First Amendment right to free speech, and the right to challenge a rigged and stolen election that the Democrats do all the time,” the statement read. “The ones who should be prosecuted are the ones who created the corruption. President Trump will never give up and will never stop fighting for you, as we all work to Make America Great Again in 2024.”