Monday, former President Donald Trump’s counsel lashed out at a website post that listed charges against him before the grand jury that was contemplating whether to indict him for the 2020 election had concluded its deliberations.
A Georgia court momentarily released a document that appeared to contain charges filed against former President Donald Trump.
Screenshots revealed 13 allegations against Trump, including felony conspiracy counts and a violation of the state’s RICO statute, although the document has been removed.
Drew Findling and Jennifer Little said in a statement that the incident exemplifies what Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is all about.
“The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office has once again shown that they have no respect for the integrity of the grand jury process,” the statement said, according to The Hill.
“This was not a simple administrative mistake.”
TRUMP LAWYER STATEMENT: "The Fulton County District Attorney's Office has once against shown that they have no respect for the integrity of the grand jury process. This was not a simple administrative mistake. A proposed indictment should only be in the hands of the District…
— Election Wizard (@ElectionWiz) August 14, 2023
“A proposed indictment should only be in the hands of the District Attorney’s Office, yet it somehow made its way to the clerk’s office and was assigned a case number and a judge before the grand jury even deliberated. This is emblematic of the pervasive and glaring constitutional violations which have plagued this case from its very inception,” they said.
Trump was livid.
“The Grand Jury testimony has not even FINISHED — but it’s clear the District Attorney has already decided how this case will end,” Trump wrote in a fund-raising email, according to the Associated Press. “This is an absolute DISGRACE.”
Trump was indicted BEFORE the grand jury closed.
That’s how rigged it is.
Georgia’s Attorney General needs to take over immediately. https://t.co/prG8myd1mR
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) August 14, 2023
According to The Independent, the Office of the Fulton County Clerk of Superior and Magistrate Courts asserted that the document was forged.
The office said they had “learned of a fictitious document that has been circulated online and reported by various media outlets related to The Fulton County Special Purpose Grand Jury”.
“While there have been no documents filed today regarding such, all members of the media should be reminded that documents that do not bear an official case number, filing date, and the name of The Clerk of Courts, in concert, are not considered official filings and should not be treated as such,” the court said.
The Associated Press observed that the posted document included a case number.
Georgia court website briefly published, then removed a document about potential Trump charges.
Here is the document. pic.twitter.com/s3SMTaS0AA
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) August 14, 2023
The document bore the date August 14, the name of Fulton County Judge Rachelle Carnesale, and the status “open.”
The document said Donald John Trump was charged with numerous alleged felony crimes and one “serious felony.” Charges on the document include one for “Violation Of The Georgia RICO (Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations) Act,” as well as “Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer.”
Among the charges of conspiracy outlined in the document are “impersonating a public officer,” “forgery,” “making false statements,” and “filing false documents.”