Donald Trump faces his most serious legal hurdle after the Department of Justice indicted him on Aug. 1. In the indictment the former president faces multiple felony charges that stem from his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The first charges states that Trump defrauded the U.S. “by using dishonesty, fraud and deceit to obstruct the nation’s process of collecting, counting, and certifying the results of the presidential election.”
The second charge says that on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump committed “a conspiracy to impede” the congressional proceeding where the election results were certified.
And the third charge states that Trump conspired “against the right to vote and to have that vote counted.”
This is the third time Trump has been indicted since leaving the White House.
But Trump’s legal issues could get worse in the upcoming weeks as Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is preparing to make announcements on her 2020 election probe.
Willis recently presented her case in the Trump election probe before one of two new grand juries. She made indications that decisions to present charges in the probe could come this month and requested remote workdays for her staff and asked judges to refrain from in-person hearings during that time.
“I respectfully request that judges not schedule trials and in person hearings during the weeks beginning Monday, August 7 and Monday, August 14,” Willis wrote in the letter.
Willis has pushed back the dates of announcing charges to request more security and to grant immunity deals.
In May 2022, Willis seated a special grand jury for the case that didn’t have the power to indict. However, the special grand jury was able to issue subpoenas, consider testimony from 75 witnesses, and draft a report with recommendations for Willis.
Trump is on record asking former Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Gov. Brian Kemp to help overturn the election on separate occasions. He asked Raffensperger during a phone call to help him secure over 11,000 votes, the amount in which he trailed Joe Biden in Georgia. During a recorded call that took place on Jan. 2, 2021, Trump told Raffensperger, “All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state.”
Willis is examining if suspects in the case are guilty of criminal solicitation to commit election fraud, making false statements to state and local governmental officials, involvement of violence or threats related to election administration and racketeering.
If Willis chooses to charge Trump with a RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations), he could face 20 years of imprisonment.
If indicted or convicted, Trump could still run for or win presidency in 2024. Along with the recent DOJ indictment, he currently faces 34 felony charges in New York for falsifying business records; and he faces 37 felony charges in federal court in Florida for hoarding classified U.S. documents.
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