Former President Donald Trump might be in full swing for his 2024 presidential ambitions, but he still has several legal challenges ahead, with the next one likely coming out of the state of Georgia.
According to The Washington Post, the prosecutor could deploy Georgia’s racketeering laws to make the case significantly more impactful and legally challenging for the former president.
Washington D.C., and other states have reportedly been included in the Georgia case against Trump, which revolves around his actions after the 2020 election.
The Post explained:
Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D) launched an investigation more than two years ago to examine efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn his narrow 2020 defeat in Georgia. Along the way, she has signaled publicly that she may use Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute to allege that these efforts amounted to a far-reaching criminal scheme.
The outlet added that Willis has most recently sought information regarding two firms that were hired by Trump's 2020 campaign to find instances of voter fraud in the wake of the election. Willis reportedly believes that the findings were buried when they failed to procure such information.
News from @AmyEGardner & @jdawsey1— the GA investigation of alleged election interference by Trump & allies has broadened to include activities in DC & several other states — a sign that prosecutors may be building a sprawling RICO case > https://t.co/uWVsfguQgp
— Jacqueline Alemany (@JaxAlemany) June 2, 2023
Unfortunately for Trump and his legal team, Georgia's RICO laws are intense and expansive, and allow prosecutors to make mountains out of ant hills.
Emory University law professor Morgan Cloud explained the state's RICO laws.
"The Georgia statute is broadly written," Cloud said. "For example, acts to obstruct justice committed in Arizona might be relevant if the goal of the enterprise, of the racketeering activity, was to overturn the 2020 presidential election nationally, as well as in Georgia."
Given the anti-Trump hatred on the left, there's no doubt that Willis will use all available resources to go after Trump, at the very least to avoid a similar fiasco to that of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's embarrassingly weak case against the 45th president.
The Post's report noted:
Willis’s investigation is separate from the one at the Justice Department being led by special counsel Jack Smith, but the two probes have covered some of the same ground.
The Georgia prosecutor signaled that she could make a charging decision as soon as August, and there have been other hints that a charging decision could be coming down the pipeline soon.
The timing of such a charging decision could have a monumental impact on Trump's presidential campaign one way or another, especially if it comes before the first televised Republican primary debates.
Should he be charged, his opponents on the stage will undoubtedly use the situation to their advantage. Only time will tell.