'A stroke of genius': Trump could be on the receiving end of the same charges used to indict gang members
On Tuesday morning Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will appear before a judge and make the case seeking to release a report from a special grand jury that Donald Trump attempted to tamper with the 2020 presidential election results.
Next up will be whether she will take that report and pursue a criminal indictment against Trump before another grand jury.
According to the Guardian's Carlisa Johnson, there are indications that Willis will pursue charges of racketeering similar to ones she previously used to go after gang members involved in violent acts.
With a phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger insisting he find just enough votes to flip the Georgia election results to his favor taking center stage, the report notes that Willis has a strong case with which to proceed.
"Though no official charges have been brought in the Trump investigation, experts believe that RICO charges are a very real possibility for the former president," Johnson wrote.
In an interview, Georgia State University law professor Clark D. Cunningham explained, "Among the things that are considered racketeering activity in the state of Georgia is knowingly and willfully making a false, fictitious or fraudulent statement or representation in any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of state government.”
Cunningham added, "If you do that, you’ve committed a racketeering activity. If you attempt to do that, if you solicit someone else to do it or you coerce someone else to do it – it’s all considered racketeering under Georgia law.”
Of note was Willis hiring RICO expert John Floyd to serve as a special assistant district attorney in 2021 which Cunningham stated was a strong indication of where the investigation is headed and labeled it a "stroke of genius."
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“She’s received criticism that she’s prosecuting cases that are too ambitious or that there’s too much of a conspiracy alleged, but she’s shown in these cases that she’s able to use RICO to prosecute all the way to the top,” Cunningham stated before elaborating, "There appear to be clear criminal activities, and [no matter] whether or not the person at the top, in this case, Trump, was directly involved in each activity or not, if he participated in what is shown to be a racketeering organization, which “Stop the Steal” might be, and conspired with others, participated directly or indirectly, he can be shown to have violated the RICO law.”
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