Could this mean jail time?
(Sorry. print guy.)
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"so the idea behind racketeering behind RICO is that there’s some kind of a conspiracy going on toward an illegal end". A conspiracy that had several Trump accolades going to Georgia to, through whatever means, change the election results in favor of their boss....If Trump doesn't get jail time for this, then we have to rethink what America is or is not.
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It's acolytes not accolades which are praises. Send him to jail to await trial
The world owes Atlanta D.A., Fani Willis, a huge debt of gratitude for her fearless effort to expose the TRUTH about Trump & his henchmen's outrageous criminal demands.
Also thank you to all the amazingly courageous Republican officials who stood FIRM and chose the Rule of Law over the despicable pressure and threats from the shockingly corrupt President of the United States, Donald J Trump.
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@JM. You mean ‘shockingly corrupt FORMER President …’
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Excellent, well thought through. and well written story. Thank you, New York Times.
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The more that is revealed about Trump, the more his supporters wallow in made-up stories about democrats. This nation, this world in this time of history needs to be ever so intelligent if we are to survive. Seeing so many people so stuck on stupid, willing to change the picture to fit into their 'idea'
of trump and not the reality is depressing, deeply.
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There was and is evidence that thousands of Georgia residents had moved before the election, then illegally voted from their old addresses--thus potentially voting in the wrong congressional and legislative districts, etc. Again, this is illegal under Georgia law and those votes may not be counted.
When Trump asked Georgia officials to "find" 11,000+ votes, he was not asking the officials to find more votes for him. He was asking the officials to investigate the illegal voting and find the illegal votes, to support his challenge to the election. Counting illegal votes is undemocratic. Trump was not attacking democracy, he was asking the officials to enforce the rules that make democracy work. He certainly was not committing a crime.
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@Tom so why hasn’t Lindsay Graham said that or Donald Trump or Raffensberger?
To think that only democrats move and don’t tell the election board so that the illegal voting is only happening on one side is unbelievable.
As a poll worker, I noticed in my town on primary day, where only Republican choices were on the ballot, all of these adult kids who no longer live with their parents showed up to vote - should we throw their votes out? You want to tell their parents that?
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@Tom
"There was and is evidence that thousands of Georgia residents had moved before the election, then illegally voted from their old addresses"
Really? Where? Why hasn't a single court anywhere in the United States agreed with this evidence enough to allow a case, any case, to move forward?
Take your time with your answers. I'll wait.
But please do include citations.
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@Deirdre It doesn't have anything to do with only Democrats moving. If there were enough illegal votes to potentially sway the election--if the number of illegal votes was greater than the margin of victory--then the election result is not valid.
And yes, all illegal votes should be thrown out. Why is this difficult?
Donald is never going to be prosecuted for his crimes and he's never going to jail.
Deal with it!
@Seabrook And there are a lot of idiots that will make up stories to make him a hero, unfortunately, the nation will have to deal with it, just like it will have to deal with all the environmental protections he rolled back, to make the heavy spenders on his campaign happy.
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@Seabrook
The vast majority of American people do not CARE if a 75 year old Trump spends actual time in a prison cell (although like his accountant, a few months would be great).
However, the whole world DEMANDS Trump be PROSECUTED and the TRUTH of all his blatant criminal activity be revealed.
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It seems to me that Fulton County, GA DA, Fani Willis has to take the evidence that she has accumulated now, and go before a Regular Grand Jury and indict Trump now on attempted Election Tampering. She has the recorded second "Perfect Phone Call," the recorded and transcribed depositions of witnesses on both ends of that "Perfect Phone Call" between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger, "to find 11,780 votes," to steal the Election for him in Georgia. It is the "Perfect Prosecutor" and "Perfect Test Case," to prove once and for all time that no one is above the law. She has the "facts, the "law," the "witnesses," and the "evidence." to prove beyond no "reasonable shadow of a doubt," that Trump is guilty. She can always go back to the Grand Juries and seek additional indictments. For the life of me, I just don't understand why our Attorney General has not included this for possible indictment under Federal law. It is a Federal Election Law crime of attempted Election Fraud. With the Mar-A-Largo Stollen Top Secret and White House Documents Case, and yet no indictments, when will justice be done? I am sick and tired of this " Orange Wind Bag" running around Scot free, flaunting his lies and breaking the laws with impunity. Lock him up already and save our democracy now!
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@trainer12 Excellent summary!! Georgia will get him first.
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" why Garland has not filed federal charges" Garland is a weak, scared prosecutor who bows down to those with wealth, celebrity, or power. And Biden was stupid for nominating such a weak- kneed AG when the country was clamoring for accountability. n
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@trainer12 Grand juries can't indict, but I hear you on all your points.
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Trump could take the insanity plea? Then be required to get help and provide guidelines for vetting future delusional candidates with narcissistic personality disorder from ever running for elected office. He should have been disqualified at the primary debate stage when he demonstrated an inability to provide a civil succinct response to debate questions
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@Ron Wolfe Yes the so called "liberal" mainstream news media, did not attack or expose Trump for the evil that he is. All they do is serve as an "echo chamber" and never refute his lies. Why? Because it captures "eye balls." Trump has called the news media, "the enemy of the people." Every newspaper, TV, radio, Web channel besides the New York Times should be condemning him, the Republican Candidates who still support him and believe the Big Lie, as unfit to be elected. The Fourth Estate needs to do its job to speak truth to power and stop being more concerned about ratings for advertising dollars. "Trump, his allies, and supporters are a clear and present danger to our democracy." Former Federal Appellate Court Justice J. Michael Lettig in his testimony to the House 1/6 Coup Investigation Committee Testimony.
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He is a sociopathic personality (or in old parlance, a psychopathic personality). This is also a narcissistic problem but much worse than so called narcissistic personality disorder. He is too willing for people to suffer and die for his grandeur and dominance than someone with narcissistic personality disorder. I would suspect that his paranoia and grandiosity reach delusional status. And his minions lap it up. They have their own problems.
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it's very hard to prove you're insane in the United States. Ted Bundy was found sane.  Crazy and insane or two different things under the United States law. Don't ask me I didn't write the law. I'm just telling you what I know.
In my experience with Federal Rico prosecutions there is a requirement that the enterprise activity is a continuing activity. If the Trump Campaign as an enterprise was likely to end at the installation of Trump as President then the absence of continuation is an argument against RICO. But it may be different in Georgia. DA Willis has hired an expert in RICO prosecutions so it’s likely she’ll be aware of the problem.
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@George Santangelo The Georgia RICO as well as the NY State RICO laws are tougher than the Federal RICO Statutes. But it seems to me the GA Election Tampering charge alone, should be enough to convict Trump beyond any reasonable doubt. You have the recording, the disposed witnesses on both ends of that second "Perfect Phone Call" and the law. A slam-dunk. She can always go back to the Grand Juries and seek further indictments. But Trump must be locked up now!
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Republicans seem to love - if not adore Teflon Presidents. Reagan has been deified. And the former president, who's been accused of seemingly endless criminal activity, from sexually molesting women in airplanes and dressing rooms to profiting left and right from his office as president.
He essentially sets the moral standard for the party today, and anyone who dares to threaten to so much as stain the Teflon is the one who pays dearly (think Liz Cheney) while the ones who commit the crimes manage to evade anything beyond media discussion.
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The state of Georgia has election interference laws around solicitation -
So the calls that Trump and Graham made are a problem, the fake electors scheme is another problem, harassing election workers is a third problem and the big daddy of copying software and touching election equipment in Coffey county is a huge problem.
Voters of Georgia should be enraged at
Republican interference and consider the Trump party a direct threat to their right to vote.
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Yep, this Georgia voter is disgusted with them.
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as an American, I am disgusted. You don't have to be from Georgia. Essentially I am agreeing with you. It's all so sickening
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Since 2015, we've heard about "the evidence against Trump."
He hasn't been charged with anything in 7 years.
I'm just tired of hearing about "all the evidence" with no action. It makes me feel like a conspiracy theorist when I tell my friends Trump should be in jail. It's not a good look to have Trump survive dozens of investigations with no charges.
The next time you post an article, I hope it says "Charges Filed Against Trump"
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@Jeffrey yes, I’m frustrated too. But you don’t need a look inside the cases floating around to see with your own 2 eyes and hear with your own 2 ears the con he tried to pawn onto the US and why he’s guilty. We lived it and watched him in action for 4 very long years. What Id like to know is what he’s done that is still secret. Just imagine that what we know is the tip of the iceberg.
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I am not criticizing you. The terms, jail and prison have become interchangeable. This is media corporate media. These are two different terms. I hope I live long enough to see Trump and all his treasonous allies locked up in prison for life. It wasn't insurrection, it was American terrorism at its best. It was fringe white supremacy and patriarchy, which are one in the same. I don't want to live in an autocracy,  and a theocracy. I don't want to live under an extremist supreme court that will do anything to further it's agenda equal justice under the law?
There are two people who really under score of these points. One is Chomsky who is the worlds, most renowned intellectual, who is basically banned from network TV, except for C-SPAN two . The other is George carlin who said almost all the same things, but delivered it in the form of comedy in his latter years I urge everyone to watch democracy now! It's free online and listeners sponsored. Chris Hedges is also an excellent investigative reporter, Susan Sontag, do your own research. I don't have the energy to keep preaching to an ignorant electorate. Remember 45 loves
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@Jeffrey
Each passing day that Merrick Garland fails to charge Trump, just makes Garland and all the cases against Trump look WEAKER and WEAKER.
Why does the AG NOT SEE THIS?
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Let’s hope at least something sticks. Year after year of investigation into the former president and nothing bears any fruit or even convincing evidence of the legitimacy of the charges. With every failed investigation his cries of witch hunt appear more and more reasonable.
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If Fani Willis prosecutes and jails Trump I would happily give her my vote if she runs President.
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I would happily give her my firstborn daughter, if I had one. I hope everyone noticed I did not write son. Thank you for noticing irony and if you didn't notice the irony, then I feel sorry for you.
Why this article is hidden on NYT?
Seriously though.
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No wonder Lindsey is acting like a nutter. He's smart enough to know this is serious and his behind is being dragged into it. It's all fun and games until your name is on the subpoena.
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Has it occurred to anyone that there may be a deal in the making that we will not know about for many years?
It could be that the DOJ will charge Trump for the documents with the understanding that:
1. He will plead guilty to this charge and receive a two-year suspended sentence and some cash return.
2. Will not be charged for Sedition from Jan 6.
3. Will not run for office of any kind again.
4. Charges from Georga will be ended.
If you think this kind of deal would never work, consider how VP Spiro Agnew stayed out of jail.
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@James Brown
I'd like to see these additional conditions:
1. NY heavily fines Trump and all four kids personally for their involvment in the Trump Org.
2. Return of all Saudi money, and prohibitions of future business relationships with the Saudi, especially LIV Golf.
3. Sale of all foreign properties.
4. Prohibitions of all other international business.
5. A prohibition of any fund raising and political support, directly or indirectly.
6. Defined penalties including jail time for violations of 2, 3, 4, and 5.
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This hypothetical seems very tempting, since it implies TFG would never run for office again. But what sort of guarantees come with his promise? He has broken so many promises that we can be nearly certain he’d walk right out of signing this agreement and announce he’s running for President in 2024. And so we’d be back to the same dilemma: to arrest or not to arrest? The DOJ would have to be prepared to send Federal agents immediately, without hesitation.
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@James Brown He can plead guilty, get a 2 year suspended sentence, be disqualified from ever holding public office but must he confined to some type of facility with an ankle bracelet.
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