Trump’s Georgia indictment is ‘excessive,’ ‘dangerous’: Jonathan Turley
Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley unpacks a Georgia grand jury’s indictment of former President Trump.
Former President Donald Trump faced his fourth indictment Monday evening after a Georgia grand jury announced charges relating to alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. On "America's Newsroom" Tuesday, Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley argued the indictment is "excessive" and "dangerous," but it also should be taken "seriously" by the Trump team given the nature of the charges.
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JONATHAN TURLEY: It's excessive and I think it's also dangerous. It essentially criminalizes challenges to elections. There's no sort of limiting principle in this document. They are charging things like the president saying publicly, we need to have a recount. Democrats and Republicans challenge these elections routinely. I've covered elections for various networks. I don't know how many now, but we often, if not always, have these challenges. Some are more supportive than others, but they're not crimes. They're seeking judicial review, and that assures the public that there's someone watching over these elections. What's concerning, particularly about this is that [Fani] Willis didn't really show any semblance of restraint. She indicted everyone for everything she could think of. It is sort of the Jackson Pollock school of prosecution. She threw it all against the canvas and I think she is hoping that some of these other co-defendants will flip.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, center, speaks in the Fulton County Government Center during a news conference, Monday, Aug. 14, 2023, in Atlanta. Donald Trump and several allies have been indicted in Georgia over efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
But having said that, I think that the Trump team has to realize that this is a serious threat, not because of the merits, but because, as a racketeering case, it's very hard to take these cases up on appeal before trial. It's very hard to get them dismissed on threshold questions. Willis will argue that she should have the right to present her evidence in trial in court. That is likely to be successful. Also, this is not a case that can be dismissed with a federal pardon, whether by Trump himself or by an elected Republican. That's why this has to be taken seriously.
Former President Donald Trump offered Fox News Digital an exclusive reaction. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Trump was indicted for the fourth time Monday night—this time out of the Georgia probe into alleged efforts to overturn 2020 election.
Trump and more than a dozen others were charged, including his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, his former attorneys Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro, Jeff Clark, John Eastman, among others.
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The charges include violating the Georgia RICO Act—the Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations Act; Solicitation of Violation of Oath by a Public Officer; Conspiracy to Commit Impersonating a Public Officer; Conspiracy to Commit Forgery in the First Degree; Conspiracy to Commit False Statements and Writings; Conspiracy to Commit Filing False Documents; Conspiracy to Commit Forgery in the First Degree; Filing False Documents; and Solicitation of Violation of Oath by a Public Officer. Not everyone faces the same charges.
Prior to this indictment, former President Trump has been indicted three other times in 2023, making him the first former president in United States history to face criminal charges.
Trump was indicted out of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021 earlier this month. He pleaded not guilty to all charges--conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.
Smith also charged Trump in June in his investigation into his alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency.
Last month, Trump was charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of that probe.
In April, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts in New York stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation. Trump is accused of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign.
Despite the numerous indictments, Trump remains the front-runner in the 2024 Republican primary race.
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Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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