Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has accused Fulton County of being “downright pathetic” after a list of criminal charges in Georgia against Donald Trump briefly appeared on its website before it was removed.
Here we go again: another disastrous Trump indictment. It’s downright pathetic that Fulton County publicly posted the indictment on its website even before the grand jury had finished convening. Since the four prosecutions against Trump are using novel & untested legal theories,… pic.twitter.com/LOYkGcCgm5
A judge presiding over grand jury deliberations in Fulton County has said cameras will be allowed into the courtroom if Donald Trump is indicted this week.
Fulton County superior court judge Robert McBurney was quoted by the Messenger as saying:
If a grand jury presents an indictment, that’s usually in the afternoon, and you can film and photograph that.
Unlike federal or Manhattan courts, where Trump appeared for his three previous arraignments, Georgia law requires that cameras be allowed into judicial proceedings with a judge’s approval, according to NBC.
Open courtrooms “are an indispensable element of an effective and respected judicial system”, the Georgia supreme court stated in a 2018 order.
Experts agree that in Donald Trump’s conclusive 2020 defeat by Joe Biden there was no widespread electoral fraud in Georgia or any other state.
The federal indictment secured by the special counsel Jack Smith this month contained extensive evidence that Trump was repeatedly told as much but advanced his lie regardless.
In Atlanta on Monday, prosecutors began presenting to a grand jury.
A former Democratic state senator, Jen Jordan, told reporters as she left the Fulton county courthouse she was questioned for about 40 minutes. News outlets reported that a former Democratic state representative, Bee Nguyen, and Gabriel Sterling, a top official in the office of the Georgia secretary of state, were seen arriving too.
Nguyen and Jordan attended state legislative hearings in December 2020, during which the former New York mayor turned Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and other aides made false claims of widespread fraud in Georgia.
The Trump lawyer John Eastman appeared during at least one of those hearings, saying the election had not been held in compliance with Georgia law and lawmakers should appoint a new slate of electors.
Sterling and the Georgia secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, pushed back against allegations of widespread problems. Both are Republicans.
On 2 January 2021, Trump called Raffensperger to say officials should help “find” the votes he needed to beat Biden. The release of a recording of that call prompted Willis to open her investigation.
Georgia grand jury witnesses to testify today because prosecutors 'moving faster' than anticipated
Former Georgia Lt Gov Geoff Duncan and independent journalist George Chidi are expected to testify today before the Fulton county grand jury hearing the Donald Trump 2020 election subversion case.
Chidi, who was scheduled to appear Tuesday before the grand jury, said he will instead testify today because prosecutors are “moving faster than they thought”.
Change of plans. I'm going to court today. They're moving faster than they thought.
— George Chidi (find me on Threads and Substack) (@neonflag) August 14, 2023
Duncan was also scheduled to appear in front of the grand jury, but an official with direct knowledge of Duncan’s hearing told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he will now meet with grand jurors on Monday.
Here’s the full statement by former state representative Bee Nguyen, who confirmed she testified to a Fulton County grand jury hearing the Donald Trump 2020 election subversion case earlier today.
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Patricia Murphy:
Former state Rep. Bee Nguyen, who was running for Secretary of State as a Democrat in the aftermath of the 2020 elections, released a statement about her testimony today. Her entire campaign was about protecting democracy for the future. #gapolpic.twitter.com/3MtLbqPeb7
Here’s a copy of the document that the Fulton County court reportedly published on their website before taking it down without explanation, which listed several criminal charges against Donald Trump related to his attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia.
The document was dated today, 14 August, and named Trump as the defendant. The charges listed in the document include:
Violation Of The Georgia Rico (Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations) Act
Solicitation Of Violation Of Oath By 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
Filing False Documents
Solicitation of Violation of Oath By Public Officer
False Statements And Writings
this document was posted online by the fulton county georgia DA’s office and then quickly taken down. defendant: donald trump pic.twitter.com/rv1jrbXp77
Two former Georgia state lawmakers testify to Fulton County grand jury
Former Democratic state representative for Georgia Bee Nguyen has confirmed that shetestified on Monday to the Fulton County grand jury hearing the Donald Trump 2020 election subversion case.
Ex-Georgia State Rep. Bee Nguyen confirms that she testified this morning before the Fulton County grand jury:
"When I took my oath of office in 2017, I swore my allegiance to our Constitution and promised to protect and defend out State and our country."
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Tamar Hallerman, who has been reporting from the Fulton County courthouse, writes that the district attorney’s office confirms no indictments have yet been made in the Trump election interference case.
I am standing in the Fulton courthouse and just spoke to the DA’s office. NO INDICTMENTS yet in the Trump election interference case
Here’s more on that Reuters report that said the state of Georgia appeared set to charge Donald Trump with a variety of charges, including racketeering, conspiracy and false statements.
According to Reuters, the Fulton County court’s website briefly posted a document appearing to detail several criminal charges against Trump, before taking the document down without explanation.
The two-page document cited the “Violation Of The Georgia Rico (Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations) Act”, “Solicitation Of Violation Of Oath By Public Officer”, “Conspiracy To Commit False Statements and Writings” and “Conspiracy To Commit Forgery in the First Degree” among other charges listed, Reuters said.
The document was dated 14 August and named the former president, the news agency said.
A spokesperson for the DA’s office responded:
The Reuters report that those charges were filed is inaccurate. Beyond that we cannot comment.
Georgia court publishes then removes docket of charges against Donald Trump - report
The Fulton County district attorney’s office said no charges have been filed yet against in the case investigating Donald Trump and others for their attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
It comes after Reuters reported that the state of Georgia appeared set to charge Trump with a variety of charges, including racketeering, conspiracy and false statements.
The Reuters report cited a two-page docket report posted to the Fulton County court’s website, which it said is no longer available on the court’s website.
