According to a leading trial lawyer in Georgia, Donald Trump has more to fear from the Fulton County grand jury looking into election tampering in the 2020 presidential election than he does from the Department of Justice's investigation into stealing top secret documents and keeping them at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
As Ronald Carlson of the University of Georgia’s law school explained in an interview with the Guardian, recent history has shown that the mishandling of documents has resulted in a slap on the wrist, but what Georgia is looking at could lead to serious criminal charges.
As the report from the Guardian's Chris McGreal notes, Trump has three major legal clouds hanging over him right now: the DOJ investigation, the New York investigation into financial fraud, and the Georgia grand jury looking into tampering.
As to the Georgia case, Carlson stated, "It’s a greater legal threat to the president and some of his followers than any of the other investigations which are going on right now. Some of the potential charges carry very serious penalties.”
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"Carlson said that even if Trump were prosecuted for removing classified papers from the White House, other officials who have mishandled secret material received only misdemeanor convictions and probation, such as the former CIA director David Petraeus," McGreal wrote. "He said the New York investigations into allegations of financial fraud are focussed more on Trump’s businesses than on the former president. It remains unclear what, if any, criminal charges might come out of Congresses investigation into the 6 January, 2021 assault on Congress."
To make his case, Carlson explained, "The focus for this grand jury is solicitation of election fraud. Presumably most of the evidence that they’re receiving will focus on that. Then there will be making false statements to state or other governmental bodies. The creation of a slate of electors, which took the position that Trump had won the election, will come under that sort of umbrella. Then we’ll probably have the grand jury looking at criminal conspiracy and violation of oath of office."
"The special grand jury can sit until next May, giving it plenty of time to gather evidence. But unlike regular grand juries, which meet for only two months and issue indictments, it can only submit a report recommending prosecution. Willis must then decide whether to follow that recommendation and appoint a regular grand jury to seek an indictment against Trump or anyone else. Carlson predicted that if the special grand jury recommends prosecution, the district attorney will go ahead," the Guardian report states, with Carlson adding, "She’s a very vigorous and bold advocate. I believe that she will follow through.”
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