Trump, Meadows, Powell among those indicted by Georgia grand jury

North Carolinians Mark Meadows and Sidney Powell are among the 18 people indicted with former President Donald Trump by the state of Georgia on Monday for alleged crimes during the state’s 2020 elections.

A Fulton County grand jury returned the indictments requested by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who claimed that the former president led a “criminal enterprise” to alter the results of the 2020 election. The special grand jury convened in May of 2022 under the leadership of foreperson Emily Khors, 30, who drew criticism for her February 2023 media tour during which she revealed publicly their deliberative process and named some of those called to testify.

All of those named in the indictment face one charge of violating the state’s Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff and a former US House member for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District, also faces one charge of Solicitation of Violating of Oath by a Public Officer. Powell, a graduate of UNC School of Law and current president of Texas-based Defending the Republic, faces seven charges, including conspiracy to commit election fraud.

“The indictments allege that rather than abide by Georgia’s legal process for challenging the election, the defendants engaged in a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn Georgia’s presidential election results,” said Willis in a press conference on Monday.

Others charged in the indictment include Trump; former New York Gov. Rudy Guilliani; and David Shafer, chair of the Georgia Republican Party.

The grand jury issued arrest warrants for the 19 people charged. Willis announced that they can voluntarily surrender until noon on Aug. 25, 2023. She thanked the Fulton County sheriff and Atlanta Police Department for “keeping us safe” through the grand jury and indictment process.

Trump’s legal team is pointing to a document leaked Monday afternoon before the grand jury wrapped deliberations at 8 pm. At the time it was dismissed by prosecutors as false, but now appears to mirror the final indictment released Monday night.

“The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office has once again shown that they have no respect for the integrity of the grand jury process,” attorneys Drew Findling and Jennifer Little said. “This was not a simple administrative mistake. A proposed indictment should only be in the hands of the District Attorney’s Office, yet it somehow made its way to the clerk’s office and was assigned a case number and a judge before the grand jury even deliberated.” 

Trump announced on Truth Social that he will hold a press conference Monday, Aug. 21, during which he says he will present evidence of election fraud in 2020.

The post Trump, Meadows, Powell among those indicted by Georgia grand jury first appeared on Carolina Journal.