27 July 2023 , 21:08
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Barricades have popped up outside the Fulton County Courthouse in Georgia where former US President Donald Trump is expected to be indicted for a third time in August.
A video posted to Twitter by Charles Bethea, a journalist with the New Yorker who's based in Atlanta, Georgia, shows authorities placing rows of the heavy-duty separators along the sidewalk near the municipal building's entrance. The barricades block the stairs.
A couple of weeks ago, two new grand juries was selected to consider another set of criminal charges against Trump and his Republican allies, who sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.
In early 2021, as the fate of the election still hung in the balance, Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and implied that top elections officials could "find 11,780 votes" lying around, which would give him the edge over Biden.
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For the past two-and-a-half years, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating that phone call and several others as well as numerous Republican fake electors. It's a case of widespread election fraud, and she's worked frivolously to gather enough evidence for another indictment.
She's expected to bring charges against the former president in August based on a grand jury recommendation.
When a grand jury convenes, they look at the evidence presented to them and discuss in closed-door sessions whether or not they believe it's culpable enough to return with a "true bill."
Grand juries must consist of at least 16 members, and 12 of those have to vote in the affirmative for the "true bill" to pass — meaning that charges are recommended. That's a super majority, and the number will increase the larger the grand jury is.
After they vote yes, an indictment is presented. Not long after, the accused will be booked and make a court appearance.
Trump has denied forthcoming indictments and said his lawyers met with the DOJ on Thursday (zz/Dennis Van Tine/STAR MAX/IPx)Should a grand jury vote an indictment down, however, prosecutors can bring the charges again to one more grand jury. But if the second one also votes in the negative, those charges must be dropped in most cases.
Trump has already been indicted twice, and the third one is likely to be similar to the first two in terms of legal proceedings. Some argue, however, that the charges are likely to be worse than the previous two.
Despite any of the indictments and charges, Trump will still be able to run for office in 2024, as he has announced his intent to do.
Just a few days ago, Rudy Giuliani, a longtime Trump supporter and former member of his legal team admitted that he made public comments that falsely claimed two Georgia election workers committed ballot fraud during the 2020 presidential vote.
He was one of the people who attempted to overturn the election results with the former president.
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Ruby Freeman and Wandrea "Shaye" Moss accused the former New York City mayor of defaming them through is allegations. They had been among those counting ballots at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
Insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump breach the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Jan. 6, 2021 (AP)Giuliani claimed that the two, who are mother and daughter, brought suitcases full of illegal ballots that they used to commit acts of fraud and alter the outcome of the race. Those claims have since been debunked.
Trump currently faces 34 felony charges in New York state court for falsifying business records in a hush money scheme over allegations of extramarital sexual encounters and an additional 37 in a federal court charges in Florida related to the hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Additionally, a Justice Department special counsel is considering his efforts to overturn election results in multiple states, adding to the looming Georgia indictment on similar charges. The counsel is also investigating the events leading up to the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol.
Trump, however, has stated that he doesn't believe any charges are forthcoming.
He took to Truth Social, his social media platform, today and stated: "My attorneys had a productive meeting with the DOJ this morning, explaining in detail that I did nothing wrong, was advised by many lawyers, and that an Indictment of me would only further destroy our Country. No indication of notice was given during the meeting — Do not trust the Fake News on anything!"