A Fulton County, Ga., grand jury indicted former President Donald Trump and 18 of his allies late Monday night on criminal charges for their attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state.
Trump and the other co-defendants have all been charged with violating the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, Act, in addition to an array of other counts.
If Trump and his allies are found guilty of RICO charges, each of them could face a minimum of five years in prison, with a maximum of 20 years.
Unlike the two federal indictments brought against Trump by the Justice Department, the criminal charges filed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis are part of a state prosecution, which is not subject to the authority of the federal government. The same applies to the hush money case brought against Trump earlier this year in New York.
Trump would not be able to pardon himself in the state cases if he’s reelected to the White House in 2024.
While New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, has the power to pardon the charges in the Manhattan case, she is unlikely to do so. And in Georgia, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp doesn’t have the power to pardon. Trump would have to turn to the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles, and even then, if he’s found guilty on RICO charges, he could apply for a pardon only five years after his sentence was completed.
For these reasons, Clark Cunningham, a law professor at Georgia State University, told Yahoo News, “Trump is in big, big trouble if he’s convicted in Georgia.”…Source – Read More!
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