Trump indictment live updates: Fulton County grand jury charges former president in Georgia

20m ago / 9:47 AM EDT

Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson: ‘Turn the page and move on’

Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson said in a statement that the fourth indictment against Trump “gives us ten new reasons to turn the page and move on.”

“The former President will have to deal with his troubles, but the country should not be further weighed down by them,” Williamson said. “He may or may not be found guilty of his crimes but his damage to our body politic is indisputable. It is time to disconnect from events of the past and create a future untainted by his political scandals.”

22m ago / 9:45 AM EDT

Trump says he’s releasing a ‘report’ on election fraud next week

In a post to his Truth Social platform this morning, Trump said he will present a “report” on Georgia election fraud during a news conference in Bedminster, New Jersey, next week.

“A Large, Complex, Detailed but Irrefutable REPORT on the Presidential Election Fraud which took place in Georgia is almost complete & will be presented by me at a major News Conference at 11:00 A.M. on Monday of next week in Bedminster, New Jersey,” he wrote.

He then insisted, without citing evidence, that all charges against him will be dropped against him and other allies.

“Based on the results of this CONCLUSIVE Report, all charges should be dropped against me & others — There will be a complete EXONERATION! They never went after those that Rigged the Election. They only went after those that fought to find the RIGGERS!” he added.

1h ago / 8:46 AM EDT

GOP Rep. pushes back on White House press secretary saying DOJ is ‘independent’

During an appearance on Fox Business this morning, Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., was asked to respond to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s response yesterday when asked about the probe into the president’s son, Hunter Biden and the independence of the Justice Department — a main focus of the GOP as Trump faces mounting legal woes.

In a press briefing, Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich asked Jean-Pierre: “How can the White House assure people that the case involving the president’s son is being handled fairly?”

Jean-Pierre replied: “The Department of Justice is independent. That is what the President believes, he believes that this White House will not politicize the Department of Justice. This was done under the leadership of a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney, as you all know. And so I’m just I’m not going to add anything else to that.”

Asked to respond to Jean-Pierre’s remarks, Van Drew, a member of the House Judiciary Committee who served as a Democrat until 2020, said her comments are “absurd” and claimed that the DOJ has “protected” the president’s family.

“I mean, the Department of Justice has been showing and protecting the Biden family on the Bidens for years. … I mean, literally every level of government, whether it’s the leadership in the IRS, whether it’s the Department of Justice, the FBI, all of them have been working in tandem, to protect this president and to hide the truth,” he said.

2h ago / 8:07 AM EDT

2024 candidate Will Hurd says former president’s ‘baggage will hand Joe Biden reelection’

GOP presidential candidate Will Hurd took aim at Trump’s refusal to concede the 2020 election in response to the former president’s fourth indictment.

“Another day, another indictment, and another example of how the former president’s baggage will hand Joe Biden reelection if Trump is the nominee,” he said in a statement. “This is further evidence that Trump knew he lost the 2020 election and was ready to do anything it took to cling to power. He will use the latest indictment as another opportunity to manipulate Americans into paying his legal bills.”

Hurd, a former Texas representative, then called on the Republican Party to “move beyond dealing with the former president’s baggage.”

“The Republican Party needs a leader who isn’t afraid of bullies like Trump and who understands the complex issues facing our country — from complicated technologies that will affect our economy and global power structures that will determine our position in the world.”

3h ago / 7:31 AM EDT

Trump and 18 co-defendants charged with racketeering in Georgia 2020 election probe

Trump and top allies including his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and a top former Justice Department official, Jeffrey Clark, were indicted yesterday on felony charges in connection with efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.

The sweeping 41-count indictment also names lawyers John Eastman, Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna Ellis and Ray Smith and several others. All were charged with violating Georgia’s RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization) law.

In an indictment handed up to the judge around 9 p.m. ET and made public just before 11 p.m., Trump was charged with felony racketeering and numerous conspiracy charges, court filings show.

The racketeering charge carries a sentence of five to 20 years, while a conspiracy conviction can result in a minimum sentence of one year in prison with a variable maximum sentence.

Read the full story here.

4h ago / 5:49 AM EDT

Can tweeting be a crime? Willis explains what an ‘overt act’ means

Charging someone under a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization or RICO law, requires a prosecutor to show a group, or enterprise, committed a pattern of crimes.

Georgia’s RICO law, like the federal law, lists specific crimes that can qualify under the law, known as “predicate” acts.

In the indictment, prosecutors listed 161 acts that they argue prove that a violation of the RICO Act occurred. Among the acts include things like allegedly accessing Dominion Voting machines and influencing witnesses.

But some of the acts listed are simply posts Trump made on Twitter, like a Jan. 6, 2021, tweet pressuring then-Vice President Mike Pence to not certify the electoral count in Congress.

Can a tweet be a crime?

Willis answered the question during her remarks — talking about how the indictment included “overt acts,” or actions that wouldn’t be a crime on their own but might prove a larger pattern.

“Many occurred in Georgia and some occurred in other jurisdictions and are included because the grand jury believes they were part of the illegal effort to overturn the result of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election,” Willis said.

5h ago / 5:15 AM EDT

Trump fundraises off fourth indictment

In an email to supporters late Monday night, Trump encouraged his supporters to donate and show that they will “NEVER SURRENDER.”

Trump’s fundraising appeal claimed that “Deep State thugs” were attempting to “JAIL me for life.”

Previous Trump indictments have led to similar fundraising emails for the Trump campaign. In the first week after Trump’s initial indictment, in Manhattan, his campaign brought in $13.5 million in donations. The first seven days after the second indictment, in Florida, brought in $5.8 million.

However, the donations have been somewhat offset by the Trump’s increasing legal bills.

6h ago / 4:15 AM EDT

‘The Witch Hunt continues,’ Trump says

Former President Donald Trump expressed outrage early Tuesday morning following his indictment in Georgia.

“So, the Witch Hunt continues!” Trump posted on his Truth Social account just before 1:30 a.m. ET.

“19 people Indicated tonight, including the former President of the United States, me, by an out of control and very corrupt District Attorney who campaigned and raised money on, ‘I will get Trump’,” Trump said, misspelling the word “indicted.”

“Why didn’t they Indict 2.5 years ago? Because they wanted to do it right in the middle of my political campaign. Witch Hunt!” he said in the post.