Donald Trump is facing new legal problems. A day earlier, Fulton County District Attorney Fanny Willis sued the former President and 18 of his allies for trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia.
This criminal case is the first against the former president and the second this month, alleging that he tried to interfere in the election.
Georgia was one of the states where Mr Trump narrowly lost to Democratic rival Joe Biden.
Former President Donald Trump has until noon next Friday, August 25, to surrender to authorities in Atlanta.
This follows the indictment filed by a grand jury in the state of Georgia against Mr. Trump and 18 other people, in connection with efforts to illegally overturn his loss in this state, in the presidential election of 2020, to the rival Democrat Joe Biden.
The 13 counts in the 97-page indictment against Mr. Trump, which were released late Monday, include racketeering, violating the president’s oath of office, conspiracy to commit forgery and filing false documents and other violations.
Among those charged are former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, Mr Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and a Justice Department official in Mr Trump’s administration, Jeffrey Clark.
“Each individual charged in this indictment is charged with participating in a criminal enterprise in the borough of Fulton, Georgia, and elsewhere, to accomplish the unlawful purpose of enabling Donald Trump to steal the presidency beginning on January 20 of 2021,” said Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
The indictment makes numerous allegations, including trying to persuade Georgia lawmakers to act against the outcome of the election, appointing a slate of electoral college members in Mr. Trump’s favor and stealing voting records.
Prosecutor Willis said the trial date is up to the judge, but her office would propose that the trial take place in the next six months.
The charges follow a two-and-a-half-year investigation that stemmed from a recorded phone call Mr Trump made in early 2021 with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which he is heard asking him to “find them”. 11,780 votes, one more than President Joe Biden’s margin of victory in this state.
Days later, Mr. Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington, in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent lawmakers from certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s victory.
The former president’s team did not wait for the revelation of the allegations to react, accusing Prosecutor Willis of being a “rabid partisan” who deliberately chose the time of the investigation of Mr. Trump’s actions to coincide with the election, thus interfering with the presidential race. of 2024 and to damage his campaign.
On his “Truth” social media page on Monday, Mr Trump wrote in all caps: “Will somebody tell the Fulton County grand jury that I didn’t rig the election. Among the people who rigged it sadly even Fani Willis, who has shockingly allowed Atlanta to become one of the most dangerous cities in the world, has no interest in seeing the massive amount of evidence available, or finding out who these people are who did this crime”.
Prosecutor Willis denies allegations that the case against Mr. Trump is politically motivated.
“I make decisions based on facts and the law. The law is completely non-partisan. This is how it is decided in every case… We have followed the same principles. We look at the facts, the law and file charges,” she said.
Georgia was one of several states where Mr Trump narrowly lost and tried unsuccessfully to overturn the result, although dozens of judges ruled against his claims of election fraud.
Mr. Trump leads among the Republican candidates for nomination as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2024 election.
Meanwhile, he is also facing two federal lawsuits, as well as another lawsuit from the state of New York.
Two weeks ago, Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a four-count indictment charging Mr. Trump with conspiring, along with six unidentified defendants, to illegally overturn the outcome of that year’s presidential election. 2020, which he lost.
Prosecutor Smith has filed another charge against Mr. Trump, in Florida, for illegal possession of classified documents after he left the White House in 2021.
While in New York, Mr Trump has been accused of altering business records to hide a payment to buy the silence of an adult film actress before his successful 2016 presidential bid.
Former President Trump has denied the allegations in all cases.
