Donald Trump, former advisers indicted in Georgia in 2020 election interference case

Former U.S. president DonaldTrumpwas hit with a fourth set of criminal charges when a Georgia grand jury issued a sweeping indictment accusing him of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

The charges, brought late on Monday by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, add to the legal woesfacingTrump, the front-runner in the race for the Republican nomination ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

The sprawling 98-page indictment listed 19 defendants and 41 criminal counts in all. All of the defendants were charged with racketeering, which is used to target members of organized crime groups and carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

Mark Meadows,Trump's former White House chief of staff, and lawyers Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman were among those charged.

"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 result," Willis said at a news conference.

Trumpand the other defendants have until noon ET on Friday, Aug. 25, to surrender voluntarily, rather than face arrest, Willis said. She said she intends to try all 19 defendants together.

Trumpcalls process flawed, unconstitutional

"This one-sided grand jury presentation relied on witnesses who harbour their own personal and political interests,"Trumplawyers Drew Findling, Jennifer Little and Marissa Goldberg said in a statement.

"We look forward to a detailed review of this indictment, which is undoubtedly just as flawed and unconstitutional as this entire process has been," the lawyers added.

The 13 felony chargesagainstTrumpmatchthose listed on a document that was briefly posted on the court website earlier in the day and reported by Reuters before it disappeared.

Lawyers for those named either declined to comment or did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case stems from a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call in whichTrumpurged Georgia's top election official, Brad Raffensperger, to "find" enough votes to reverse his narrow loss in the state. Raffensperger declined to do so.

Supporters stormed U.S. Capitol

Trump's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol four days later, in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent lawmakers from certifying Biden's victory.

The indictment cites a number of crimes thatTrumpor his associates allegedly committed, including falsely testifying to lawmakers that election fraud had occurred and urging state officials to violate their oaths of office by altering the election results.

Prosecutors also cited the breach of a voting system in a rural Georgia county and the harassment of an election worker who became the focus of conspiracy theories.

It also mentions an alleged scheme to subvert the U.S. electoral process by submitting false slatesof electorspeople who make up the Electoral College that elects the president and vice-president.

WATCH | Trump charged in Georgia over attempts to overturn 2020 election:

Trump charged in Georgia over attempts to overturn 2020 election

1 year ago

Duration 2:38

A Georgia grand jury investigating Donald Trump's attempts to overturn results of the 2020 election has indicted 19 defendants, including former president Donald Trump.

The indictment reaches across state lines, saying thatTrumpadvisers, including Giuliani and Meadows, advanced the conspiracy by calling officials in Arizona, Pennsylvania and elsewhere seeking to change the outcome in those states.

Trumphas denied any wrongdoing, and accuses Willis, an elected Democrat, of being politically motivated.

Trumphas already said he's not guilty in three other criminal cases.

He faces a New York state trial beginning on March 25, 2024, involving a hush money payment to a porn star, and a Florida trial beginning on May 20 in a federal classified documents case. In both cases, Trumppleaded not guilty.

A third indictment, in Washington federal court, accuses him of illegally seeking to overturn his 2020 election defeat.Trumpdenies wrongdoing in this case as well, and a trial date has yet to be set.

Georgia, once reliably Republican, has emerged as one of a handful of politically competitive states that can determine the outcome of presidential elections.

Trumppersists in falsely claiming he won the November 2020 election, although dozens of court cases and state probes have found no evidence to support his claim.

Trump has wide lead over rivals

Strategists said that while the indictments could bolster Republican support forTrump, they may hurt him in next year's general election, when he will have to win over more independent-minded voters.

His lead over Republican presidential rivals has widened since the New York charges were filed in April, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling.

But in a July Reuters/Ipsos poll, 37 per centof independents said the criminal cases made them less likely to vote for him, compared to eightper centwho said they were more likely to do so.

Willis's investigation drew on testimony fromTrumpadvisers, including Giuliani, who urged state lawmakers in December 2020 not to certify the election.And Republican state officials like Raffensperger and Gov.Brian Kemp, who refused to echoTrump's false election claims.

Raffensperger has said there was no factual basis forTrump's objections, while Kemp certified the election results despite pressure from within his party.

Trumphas been mired in legal trouble since leaving office.

Apart from the criminal cases, a New York jury in May found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll and awarded her $5 million US in a civil case. A trial is scheduled for Jan. 15 on a second defamation lawsuit seeking $10 million US in damages.Trumpdenies wrongdoing.

Read the full indictment from the Fulton County District Attorney:

Trumpis also due to face trial in October in a civil case in New York that accuses him and his family business of fraud to obtain better terms from lenders and insurers.

Trump's company was fined $1.6 million US after being convicted of tax fraud in a New York court in December.

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