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re: CRIMINAL TRUMP Surrendered, Arrested, Mugshot & Fingerprinted & Bonded For $200,000
The Mafia-Busting Law TRUMP is Charged Under
TRUMP to be Charged Today of Racketeering, Perjury and Theft Under MAFIA-Busting LAW
He's to Appear at FED Courthouse Washington DC at 1600 (20:00 GMT) Before Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya.
TRUMP Now Facing 91 CRIMINAL Charges in 4 CRIMINAL Cases. Could He Go to Prison?
BBC 15 AUG 2023
TRUMP is expected to plead not guilty. Although he has the option of appearing remotely via video feed, it is understood he will attend in person.
What is Racketeering? TRUMP Charged With Mafia-Busting Law in Georgia
The first count in the Georgia indictment charges Donald Trump and 18 others with racketeering for their alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state.
Announcing the charges, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis implicated the former president in a sprawling election subversion conspiracy, with him as the ringleader.
"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 results," she said.
These are the fourth set of criminal charges brought against Trump in recent months, but it is the first time a former American president faces charges once used to convict mob bosses like John Gotti and Vincent Gigante.
Organised criminal activity in the US is routinely prosecuted under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (Rico) Act.
Rico laws help prosecutors connect the dots between underlings who broke laws and those who gave them marching orders.
More than 30 US states have implemented their own versions of the federal government's Rico Act and Georgia's adaptation is broader in scope than most.
Federal Rico statutes list 35 crimes that would qualify as evidence of racketeering, but Georgia's Rico laws choose from a list of 65.
Prosecutors are required to show that a criminal "enterprise" exists and to detail a pattern of racketeering that rests on at least two qualifying crimes.
Rudy Giuliani in Washington DC in May
Penalties under Georgia's Rico Act are steep - prison terms between five and 20 years, or fines of up to $250,000 (£197,000) - and can help persuade subordinates to cut deals with the prosecution in exchange for lesser sentences.
Such incidents may generate a wave of never-before-seen evidence and testimony prosecutors can use against the alleged ringleaders, according to Anthony Michael Kreis, a law professor at Georgia State University.
To convict Mr Trump himself, Mr Kreis said prosecutors will have to show the former president was "not some kind of passive participant" following legal advice, but the man "driving the bus".
Mr Trump is already facing federal charges from the US Department of Justice over his false election claims, in a trial whose evidence could factor into, and overlap with, the case in Georgia.
He is also awaiting trial over his alleged mishandling of classified documents and his hush-money payments to a porn star.
-- Is Trump running for president mostly to avoid prison?
District Attorney Fani Willis has used the state's racketeering laws for high-profile prosecutions in the past.
In 2013, she led the prosecution - on Rico charges - of Atlanta public school teachers and administrators accused of cheating on state-run standardised tests in order to secure bonuses and promotions.
"You don't, under Rico, have to have a formal, sit-down dinner meeting where you eat spaghetti," Ms Willis explained as she indicted nearly three dozen educators about a decade ago.
"But what you do have to do is all be doing the same thing for the same purpose. You all have to be working towards that same goal."
Eleven of 12 officials were ultimately convicted at trial, the longest in state history, with most other co-conspirators taking guilty pleas.
Rico is a tool that helps prosecutors tell the whole story, says Fani Willis
"I am hoping Fani Willis has learned from this YSL case when Donald Trump's case finally gets to that level," said Keisha Steed, an Atlanta defence attorney. "The way it's playing out has been a mess!"
She said Ms Willis's office did not seem "prepared for the number of jurors that they had to call in, the logistics of having everybody be in one place, the time it takes for all attorneys to question jurors".
The plodding pace of Young Thug's trial has set it on course to beat the record set by the Atlanta educators' trial as the longest in state history.
That is not unusual for multi-defendant and multi-attorney Rico cases, which can create major backlogs in the legal system.
"The whole courthouse is basically closed," said Meg Strickler, another local defence attorney.
"I hate the Rico Act," she added, saying clients are frequently intimidated by the penalties they could face, and the time and money needed to defend themselves.
And, given how lengthy and complicated Rico trials are, she expects the Trump trial will prove a confusing and uncomfortable affair for a jury, if one can eventually be seated.
What About The Trial?
The man leading the inquiry, special counsel Jack Smith, is pledging to seek a "speedy trial", but it is far from certain that this will happen.
Trumps' lawyers are resistant, saying they will need time to organise their client's defence.
Also, the trial will be competing for time with the other cases against him and is unlikely to be held at key moments during the election.
So the possibility remains that Trump could have already been elected president by the time the trial starts.
What Are The Charges Against Trump?
Trump, who lost the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden, has been charged with plotting to overturn his defeat.
He is Accused of Four Counts:
Conspiracy to defraud the US
Conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding
Obstruction of an official proceeding
Conspiracy against the rights of citizens
These charges relate to Trumps' actions over a period of more than two months from soon after election day (3 November) until the day he left the White House on 20 January.
The first count refers to alleged attempts to obstruct the collection, counting and certification of votes.
The second and third deal with alleged attempts to obstruct the certification of electoral college votes in the US Congress on 6 January, which culminated in the Capitol riots.
The fourth charge is about alleged attempts to interfere with citizens' right to vote and to have their votes counted.
This is Trumps' third indictment and some legal experts have said it may not be the strongest case brought against him. He may face deeper legal peril elsewhere.
But in terms of the gravity of the charges, these are the most serious and consequential, says our North America editor, Sarah Smith.
This is the first time he is being indicted for something which took place while he was still in office, she says. And there is also a real-world impact laid out in this indictment which we have not seen in the other cases.
What Did Trump Do and Say Which Led to These Charges?
As votes were counted after the election, it soon became clear that Mr Trump was not prepared to accept that he had lost.
According to the indictment, he lied and echoed false claims of electoral fraud for months despite being told by Vice President Mike Pence and other senior officials that they were not true.
It is likely the former president's lawyers will argue that he has a right under the First Amendment of the US Constitution to express his views, even if they involve false claims.
These views were expressed on the morning of 6 January 2021 by Mr Trump in a tweet ahead of a rally of his supporters in Washington DC.
Later at the rally he urged supporters to converge on the US Capitol to "make your voices heard" and "fight like hell" as Congress was meeting.
What ensued became known as the Capitol riots, as a mob of Trump supporters violently attacked the Congress building, forcing lawmakers to be evacuated and delaying the proceedings.
Mr Trump tweeted that afternoon calling for rioters to remain peaceful and respect the law.
But he later praised the demonstrators as "great patriots". And he continued to falsely claim electoral fraud in his remaining two weeks in the White House.
What is Mike Pences' Role in The Affair?
The US vice-president is also president of the Senate, and has a mostly ceremonial role which includes the final certification of election results.
Trump publicly pressured Mr Pence to obstruct this certification.
Mr Pence refused, and maintains he had no right to overturn the election.
He has since accused Trump of endangering him and his family, as well as others at the Capitol who were threatened by the rioters.
Who Are Trumps' Co-conspirators?
The indictment mentions six co-conspirators including a Department of Justice official, four attorneys and a political consultant. None of them are named as they have not been charged with a crime.
However, quotes, anecdotes and other context in charging documents and previous investigations have allowed five of them to be identified.
They are former Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman and Sidney Powell, Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark and pro-Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro.
The identity of the sixth co-conspirator, a political consultant, remains unclear.
Could Trump Go to Prison and Still Run For President?
The former president, at 77 years of age, is facing the possibility of a stiff prison sentence if convicted.
Trump is also facing jail terms of up to 20 years in the classified documents case.
Lyndon LaRouche, convicted of fraud, stood for president eight times
Under US law, nothing prevents an individual from running for office if they are facing criminal charges, or even if they are in jail.
Of course that doesn't mean that voters would want to support such a candidate.
At least two people have previously run for president with criminal convictions - socialist candidate Eugene Debs in 1920, convicted over a 1918 anti-war speech; and conspiracist Lyndon LaRouche, convicted of fraud, one of whose eight runs for president in 1992 was from a federal prison in Minnesota.
Both lost their elections.
Who is Tanya Chutkan?
The judge assigned to oversee the case, Tanya Chutkan, is an Obama appointee, known to be a tough sentencer in other 6 January cases.
She has come up against Trump on one previous occasion in 2021, blocking his efforts to stop a Congressional committee accessing White House documents.
Judge Tanya Chutkan..At the time she dismissed him with the memorable phrase:
"Presidents are not kings, and plaintiff is not president."
As a district court judge for the District of Columbia, she has seen numerous people accused of participation in the Capitol riots, often going beyond sentencing recommendations by prosecutors.
What are Trumps' Chances Against Joe Biden?
Trump is currently way out ahead of the field of candidates for the Republican nomination for president.
Opinion polls since his indictment suggest his lead over his nearest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, has grown to some 37 percentage points.
But while his support among his base and the Republican Party in general has solidified, what about his popularity among voters in general?
Current President Joe Biden defeated Trump in 2021 and has always presented himself as the candidate who can beat him again.
Indeed early head-to-head polls suggest he has a lead of between two and four percentage points over his rival.
But this lead is slender and within the margin of error, suggesting Trump is again within striking distance of the White House.
What if He is Convicted But Still Wins The Election?
Some have suggested that Trump as President could try to pardon himself....
(ONLY in America could a CRIMINAL become President)
'AMERICA IS A SON WHO HAS DISHONOURED HIS 'FATHER'
This possible scenario is untested by US law, which means that the Supreme Court might need to intervene.
He might also try to have the case dismissed if he was elected president while it was still ongoing.
Graphic showing clash between Trumps' court dates and Republican campaign calendar
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