Ending the day as I began it – a post on Trump’s potential indictment coming out of Fulton County, Georgia this week. This odd little story hit the Reuters wire and looks like the federal court jumped the gun and showed the D.A.’s hand.

For a brief time, a document was posted Monday listing several criminal charges against Trump. They look to be related to his actions after the 2020 election. The document was taken down without explanation. Like I said, odd.

The Fulton County District Attorney’s office said that no charges have been filed against Trump. We know from reporting that D.A. Fani Willis began presenting her case to the grand jury Monday morning. The document was dated August 14. It names Donald John Trump and cites the case as open. “The Reuters report that those charges were filed is inaccurate. Beyond that we cannot comment,” a spokesperson for the District Attorney’s office said.

As predicted, Fani Willis is using the RICO Act. The document is two pages and it cites the following, among other charges: “Violation Of The Georgia Rico (Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations) Act,” “Solicitation Of Violation Of Oath By Public Officer,” “Conspiracy To Commit False Statements and Writings” and “Conspiracy To Commit Forgery in the First Degree.” Altogether, there are 39 charges that I see on the document.

The Fulton County clerk’s office did not comment on the docket report. Neither did the Trump camp, though that may not last for long. If he is charged, it will be his fourth indictment over the last five months. It will be the second one to address his actions after his loss to Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

Conservative talk show host Erick Erickson explained how the process will work in Fulton County. Erickson used the Georgia RICO statute in a civil case as a practicing lawyer. He wrote about Georgia’s RICO laws versus other states.

States adopted state RICO laws after the federal law. Georgia’s is one of the most expansive. Federal RICO identifies 27 federal offenses and eight state crimes as “racketeering activity.” Georgia’s RICO includes many additional offenses. It is one of the broadest in the nation, and out of state crimes can be tied to in-state crimes to show a broad criminal enterprise. But in Georgia, an overarching enterprise is not always necessary, and the elements necessary to prove a RICO violation are actually less burdensome for a prosecutor than at the federal level.

He said that a criminal indictment is expected this week.

This week, the State of Georgia expects to criminally indict former President Trump and numerous others under the state RICO statute. They will need to show, based on what is so far alleged, that President Trump was involved — not just his lawyers — and that his lawyers operated with his blessing.

This week, all eyes will be on the Fulton County Courthouse in downtown Atlanta as the District Attorney presents evidence to the Grand Jury. Most people expect an indictment on Tuesday and an arraignment on Thursday. They expect that timeline to play out because the security protocols in place unless extended, expire Thursday night.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE:
For what it’s worth, a tweet from a reporter claims the document is a fake. There is a case number on the document, though I don’t know if it is authentic or not.

#BREAKING Fulton Clerk of Superior Court warns of "fictitious document that has been circulated online" related to the Trump Grand Jury pic.twitter.com/80x39MvOqr

— Brendan Keefe – Atlanta News First (@BrendanKeefe) August 14, 2023