Oh....RICO isn't a crime. I guess that hubbub in Georgia has been all for naught.
These are the charges. RICO means it was a conspiracy between two or more people and everybody is charged the same, under the RICO Act.
The premature celebrating is nothing more than a misunderstanding of the law.
Here are the charges. Now that you know that RICO stands for 'Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations', you realize that they are not specific crimes but a label which ties a group of law-breakers together to face the same crimes regardless if an individual did not break a specific law under RICO.
Solicitation of violation of oath by public officer
This count relates to alleged attempts by Trump and others in his orbit to peddle election fraud claims that they said would have changed the outcome of the voter counts in Georgia. Trump repeatedly contacted top Republican leaders in Georgia, including the state’s governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and former House Speaker. (Trump is charged with this particular crime and others more than once, so you will see some counts listed multiple times here.)
The indictment specifically mentions this last call — to David Ralston, at the time the Speaker of the House in Georgia — saying that on Dec. 7, 2020, Trump cajoled him to call for a special session “for the purpose of unlawfully appointing presidential electors” from Georgia.
Former president Donald Trump greets supporters before speaking at the Georgia Republican Party's state convention on June 10, 2023, in Columbus, Ga. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer
Trump and others are accused of conspiring to have people “falsely hold themselves out as the duly elected and qualified presidential electors” from Georgia in December 2020. This count accuses Trump and others of plotting to put forth people to falsely claim they were Georgia electors to essentially be counted instead of the electors appointed by the state’s governor when he certified the election results.
There are multiple counts related to this plot, with the indictment accusing Trump and others in the case of repeatedly breaking the law when they pushed forward pro-Trump electors.
Here’s who else was charged in Georgia (other than Trump)
Conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree
This count similarly accuses Trump and others of committing a crime in connection with trying to push forward a pro-Trump slate of electors. Trump and others are accused here of effectively putting this plot into writing, saying that they conspired “to knowingly make a document titled ‘CERTIFICATE OF THE VOTES OF THE 2020 ELECTORS FROM GEORGIA.’” This document, the indictment continues, falsely purported to be from actual presidential electors in Georgia.
Conspiracy to commit false statements and writings
This count also related to the document titled “CERTIFICATE OF THE VOTES OF THE 2020 ELECTORS FROM GEORGIA.” For this count, Trump and others are accused of conspiring to make and use this false document, which contains a false statement claiming that it was signed by “the duly elected and qualified Electors” from Georgia.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D) speaks during a news conference at the Fulton County Government building on Monday, Aug. 14, in Atlanta. (Joshua Lott/The Washington Post)
Conspiracy to commit filing false documents
This count also relates to the document claiming to be from Georgia’s electors. On this count, Trump and others are accused of conspiring to file that document in court, even knowing it contained “the materially false statement” claiming it was signed by the state’s electors, the indictment alleges.
Conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree
This count also accuses Trump and others of wrongdoing in connection with the false elector plots. This charge alleges that the group conspired to create a document claiming “to have been made by the authority of the duly elected and qualified presidential electors from the State of Georgia, who did not give such authority,” and then have it sent to the Archivist of the United States as well as Georgia’s governor’s office. The document was titled “RE: Notice of Filling of Electoral College Vacancy.”
Conspiracy to commit false statements and writings
This count also relates to the document titled “RE: Notice of Filling of Electoral College Vacancy.” On this charge, Trump and others are accused of conspiring to make and use this document even though it contained false statements regarding who was the chair and secretary of Georgia’s electoral college meeting in 2020.
Filing false documents
This count similarly alleges that Trump and one of the lawyers pushing to overturn his loss — John Eastman — conspired to file a false document in court. The indictment alleges that they filed a document called “VERIFIED COMPLAINT FOR EMERGENCY INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF” in federal court, with the filing containing materially false information.
Solicitation of violation of oath by public officer
Trump is accused again of committing this crime. This time, the indictment accuses him of cajoling Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State, to commit a felony “by unlawfully altering, unlawfully adjusting, and otherwise unlawfully influencing the certified returns for presidential electors” in Georgia.
Trump
called Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021, just days before Congress was set to certify the election results, saying he wanted to “find” votes needed to overcome Biden’s margin of victory. The indictment accuses Trump and Mark Meadows, his White House chief of staff, of trying to get Raffensperger to violate his oath.
False statements and writings
This count is fairly straightforward: According to the indictment, when Trump spoke to Raffensperger and other Georgia officials, he knowingly made false claims alleging a host of deceit in Georgia’s proceedings, along with other states.
Solicitation of violation of oath by public officer
Trump is accused here of again urging Raffensperger to violate his oath, this time in
a letter he sent him in September 2021. The indictment alleges that by calling on Raffensperger to overturn the election “and announce the true winner,” Trump was again calling on Raffensperger to break the law.
False statements and writings
This count again accuses Trump of knowingly making a false statement to Raffensperger. The indictment alleges that in his September 2021 letter to Raffensperger, Trump falsely claimed to him that “the number of false and/or irregular votes is far greater than needed to change the Georgia election result.”
Amy Gardner contributed to this report.