One year ago today, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis held a press conference that changed the course of American history. For the first time, a former United States President was indicted.
With the world watching, Willis revealed details of the indictment against Donald Trump and Trump and 18 others who were charged.
“I’m here with the prosecutors and investigators who have worked diligently on the investigation of criminal attempts to interfere in the administration of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election,” Willis said. “Today, based on information developed by that investigation, a Fulton County grand jury returned a true bill of indictment, charging nine individuals with violations of Georgia Law arising from a criminal conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in this state. The indictment includes 41 felony counts, and it’s 97 pages long.”
Those charged include Trump, Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Mark Meadows, Kenneth Cheseboro, Jenna Ellis, Ray Smith, David Shafer, Sidney Powell, and Cathy Latham.
The RICO case centered around the 2020 election probe when Trump asked former Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger during a phone call to help him secure over 11,000 votes, the amount in which he trailed Joe Biden in Georgia.
However, things would go wrong for Willis at the start of 2024. Trump’s lawyers were able to find a loophole after it was discovered that Willis had a relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
The case has now stalled and Trump is attempting to return to the White House.
On June 5, the Georgia Court of Appeals ordered a pause in the case until a ruling is determined if Fani Willis can remain on the case.
This appeal focuses on Willis’ relationship with Wade. Judge Scott ruled that Willis did not benefit financially from the relationship and the defendants were not harmed in any way.
Willis’ team wrote, “There is simply no trial court error to be found in the decision to deny disqualification. Days of evidence and testimony failed to disclose anything like a calculated pre-trial plan designed to prejudice the defendants or secure their convictions. The applicants have not identified any public statement injecting the District Attorney’s personal belief as to the defendants’ guilt or appealing to the public weighing of evidence.”
Trump has since faced multiple charges, federal and state, across the nation. In New York, Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records prior to the 2016 election. Prosecutors proved that Trump was involved in an illegal conspiracy to undermine the 2016 election in connection with concealing hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. He will be sentenced in September.
But even with Trump’s mounting legal issues, most Republicans are hoping that a convicted felon with multiple criminal cases across the nation is elected President.
