Donald Trump hits out at ‘rigged’ indictment after charge of attempting to overturn 2020 election defeat in Georgia
15 August 2023, 20:00 | Updated: 15 August 2023, 20:52
Donald Trump has hit out over his latest indictment, saying it was ‘rigged’ and that there has been an attempted ‘witch hunt’ on his political campaign.
The former US president spoke out on Truth Social in the early hours of Tuesday morning after his 98-page indictment was handed down in Georgia.
Donald Trump was charged with trying to overturn his presidential election defeat in Georgi on Monday and has been indicted along with 18 people in a 41-charge sheet over alleged actions during the 2020 loss to Joe Biden.
“So, the Witch Hunt continues!" Mr Trump said. "19 people Indicated tonight [sic], 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.’
“And what about those Indictment Documents put out today, long before the Grand Jury even voted, and then quickly withdrawn? Sounds Rigged to me!
“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!”
Hours later, he later posted again claiming he had proof of a report that would ‘exonerate’ him.
It is the fourth time this year Trump has been criminally charged in 2023. The ex-president denies the accusations against him.
Among the 18 defendants listed in the indictment are Rudy Giuliani, a former New York mayor who worked as Trump's lawyer, and Mark Meadows, a former White House chief of staff.
It said: “Trump and the other defendants charged in this indictment refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and wilfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favour of Trump.”
The indictment, issued late on Monday night US time, brands the defendants as a "criminal organisation" who "knowingly and wilfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favour of Trump".
Most seriously, it accuses them of breaching the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act, more commonly referred to as Rico, which can lead to up to 20 years behind bars.
It also accuses them of crimes including false statements and writings, impersonating a public officer, forgery, filing false documents, influencing witnesses, conspiracy to defraud the state and theft and perjury.
Trump's campaign team for the 2024 presidential election called the indictment "bogus" and claimed it was designed to "damage the dominant Trump campaign".
It hit out at Fani Willis, the district attorney for Fulton County - the area that includes the state's capital Atlanta - calling the Democrat a "rabid partisan".
The team said: "This latest co-ordinated strike by a biased prosecutor in an overwhelmingly Democrat jurisdiction not only betrays the trust of the American people, but also exposes the true motivation driving their fabricated accusations."
Willis has given Trump and the accused until midday on August 25 to surrender to police, and said she hoped to try all defendants together.
Despite a raft of charges relating to the 2020 election, Trump is in pole position to secure the Republican Party's nomination to take on Joe Biden next year in a rerun of the same election that has led to so many legal problems for him.
He already faces charges filed by federal prosecutors in Washington over allegations he tried to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump was recorded asking Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of statement to "find" 11,780 votes in the battleground state so he could beat Biden there.
Eight people who signed a certificate claiming Trump won the election have reached deals with Fulton County prosecutors.
