Donald Trump and 18 of his allies have been charged with racketeering for their alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
Trump was announced as a suspect by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who said the former president had been charged with racketeering, making this the fourth set of criminal charges brought against him in recent months.
Announcing the charges, she 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 results.”
It will be the first time a former American president faces charges once used to convict mob bosses like John Gotti and Vincent Gigante.
Trump has so far denied all charges against him.
Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis first launched an investigation in February 2021 into allegations of election meddling against Trump and his associates. In the 98-page indictment made public on Monday, prosecutors listed 41 charges against the 19 defendants.
Ms Willis announced she was giving defendants the opportunity to voluntarily surrender no later than noon on Friday, August 25 with the plan in motion to try all 19 accused together.
The list of alleged co-conspirators includes former Trump lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
Others to be charged include John Eastman, a constitutional scholar who developed the theory that Mr Trump’s vice-President Mike Pence could stop the election result from being formally certified, Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows, and Trevian Kutti, a former publicist for Kanye West and R-Kelly.
The indictment says the defendants “knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favour of Trump”.
But what does it all mean?
What is racketeering?
In the US, racketeering is considered a federal crime and is seen as a ‘white collar crime’ which typically involves committing fraud. US law experts say the charge is “typically associated with organised crime and can include various activities, from narcotics trafficking to money laundering”.
Racketeering can include criminal activities involving extortion and a racket, which is the official name for an organised scheme to extract illegal profits or change the outcome of an event.
The most common types of racketeering are related to organised crime syndicates such as drug cartels or mob families. However, racketeering can also occur in legitimate businesses through fraudulent activity or corruption.
Under US federal law, the government can prosecute individuals who have committed or attempted to commit any “predicate act” as part of an ongoing criminal enterprise.
A predicate act is any criminal activity considered part of a larger scheme or plan for committing fraud or other illegal activity for financial gain. This can include mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, securities fraud, and more.
What are the consequences if found guilty of racketeering?
If found guilty, the sentences vary depending on the type and severity of the offences committed in the eye of the judge.
However, if convicted on serious charges - such as the ones Trump is facing - offenders can be given up to 20 years in prison and hefty fines of up to $250,000 per count charged against them.
Additionally, those convicted may be required to pay restitution costs if they caused any victims financial harm as part of their illegal activities.
Why has Trump been charged?
Donald Trump and 18 of his former aides have been charged with an alleged criminal conspiracy over attempts to overturn the 2020 US Presidential election result in Georgia.
The former Republican president now faces the fourth indictment brought against him in the last five months and the prospect of yet another criminal trial in the run-up to next November’s presidential election. Trump is currently the frontrunner in the Republican Party’s race to pick its next candidate for the White House.
Charges have been brought under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, utilising a law which was originally aimed at tackling mafia activities and organised crime groups.
Mr Giuliani himself famously used RICO powers to take on mobsters when he was a prosecutor in New York in the mid-80s.
Trump won the state of Georgia in his 2016 victory, but narrowly lost it to Joe Biden four years later.
As he and his team made frantic efforts to overturn the 2020 election result, Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and told him: “I just want to find 11,780 votes”.
That leaked phone call sparked a criminal investigation which ended with the current indictment.
Mr Trump swiftly denounced the charges last night, insisting: “Justice and the rule of law are officially dead in America.”
He added: “This marks the fourth act of election Interference on behalf of the Democrats in an attempt to keep the White House under Crooked Joe’s control and jail his single greatest opponent of the 2024 election.”
Mr Trump was first charged with criminal offences over money paid in the lead-up to the 2016 election to two women who said they had sexual encounters with him.
He is accused of illegally retaining boxes of classified and sensitive documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after his presidential term ended.
Mr Trump also faces charges over the January 6 riot at the Capitol building in Washington DC and wider efforts to overturn his election defeat.
