Fani Willis is constrained by charging Trump conspirators — here's how she'll do it: law professor
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is blocked when charging some linked to the 2020 Georgia election overthrow efforts. But one law school professor and former federal prosecutor says she'll get the indictments anyway.
Alabama University Law School Professor Joyce White Vance explained on Sunday that Willis is constrained by charges that happened in Fulton County. Some of the things involving the 2020 Georgia election occurred in Coffee County. What she will likely do, however, is use racketeering laws to link them to a conspiracy in Fulton County.
Vance explained that "some of the most interesting and powerful evidence comes from" Coffee County.
Those charges will come from "this notion that [Donald] Trump forces were trying to access voting machines and were trying to engage in election obstruction there," she continued. "And that's why this RICO charge we've heard about so much makes sense. It allows her to bring in a lot of different participants in this scheme. It allows her to bring in wide-ranging conduct, particularly Georgia conduct. And that's likely what we will see a RICO indictment later this week."
Earlier this week, it was reported that Willis is likely to indict a number of Trump’s associates, in addition to the former president, in the coming days.
“It really seems like they’re coming for everyone,” one lawyer, who has spoken with prosecutors, told Rolling Stone. "Based on what I know, Willis and her team do not seem to be stopping at Donald Trump. The scope for this [likely coming indictment] is probably going to be a hell of a lot wider than that… and round up a significant number of people."
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Doing it as a "racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations" (RICO)charge, however, they will likely look different from special counsel Jack Smith's indictments.
"This is a very different prosecution," Vance explained, "with very different motivations than the one that Jack Smith is doing. His is a prosecution designed for speed. I suspect what we'll see here is the prosecution designed for completeness. The Georgia RICO statute is complicated. The longest trial that ever took place in Georgia took a couple of months; a trial that took place under this particular statute. There are a lot of moving parts. Add in additional defendants, and you've got more complexity. We've all seen in the Mar-a-Lago prosecution that it's taken time just to get lawyers just to arrange the defendants. [Georgia] is a state that's usually so routine that it happens days following arraignment. But in Florida, that's still ongoing. Now, multiply that out. You've got a dozen or so defendants, and you can understand the complexities that come into play."
She noted that the "dance" being seen now is whether Trump allies will be defendants or witnesses.
"This weekend is the time to make that choice," Vance said.
Trump disputed reports that prosecutors have text messages linking his campaign's legal team to a voting system breach in Coffee County, posting the comments on his social media site Sunday.
See the full interview with Vance in the video below or at the link here.
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