By KATE BRUMBACK
ATLANTA (AP) — A year after a Georgia grand juryaccused Donald Trump and othersof illegally trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state, the case has stalled with no chance of going to trial before the end of this year.
When Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis secured the indictment a year ago Thursday, it was the fourth and most sprawling of thecriminal cases against the former president. Trumpnarrowly lost Georgiato Democrat Joe Biden, and Willis usedGeorgia’s anti-racketeering lawto allege thathe and 18 othershad participated in a wide-ranging scheme to subvert the will of the state’s voters.
Willis’ team notched some early victories in the case, but explosive allegations raised by one of Trump’s co-defendants early this year have caused a delay and could even derail the prosecution.
Here are some things to know about the case.
A lengthy indictment that cast a wide net
Nearly 100 pages long, the indictment included 41 criminal counts against Trump and 18 others. High-profile people charged along with the former president include his White House chief of staffMark Meadows, former New York City mayorRudy Giulianiand conservative attorneySidney Powell.
All of the defendants were charged with violating the state’s anti-racketeering law and the indictment includes 161 alleged acts to support that charge. The narrative put forth by prosecutors alleges multiple people committed separate crimes to accomplish a common goal — challenging Trump’s electoral loss.
The indictment includes charges related to aJan. 2, 2021, phone callbetween Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger during which Trump urged the state’s top elections official to help him “find” the votes he needed to win. Other charges have to do with a getting aslate of Republican electorsto falsely declare that Trump won the state, allegations of harassment of a Georgia election worker and abreach of election equipmentin a rural south Georgia county.
The judge overseeing the case in Marchdismissed six counts in the indictment, including three of the 13 counts against Trump. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee wrote that prosecutors had failed to provide enough detail about the alleged crime in those counts. Willis’ team hasappealed that ruling.
A first-of-its-kind mug shot
When Trump arrived in Atlanta last August to be booked on the charges against him, he was quickly released on bond. But hisbrief stop at the Fulton County Jailmarked thefirst time that a former president has had to sit for a mug shot.
While Trump and the others indicted all had to bebooked at the jail, they waived their first court appearances. While his lawyers have been present and made arguments at numerous hearings over the last year, Trump has yet to set foot in a Georgia courtroom.
Early victories for prosecutors
Four of the 18 people charged along with Trump in Georgiapleaded guilty to lesser chargesafter reaching plea deals with prosecutors within a few months of the indictment.
Bail bondsman Scott Hallpleaded guilty to misdemeanor chargesin September. Prosecutors had accused him of participating in abreach of election equipmentin rural Coffee County.
Thefollowing month, Powelland lawyer KennethChesebro each pleaded guilty. Powell was also accused in the Coffee County breach, while Chesebro had helped organize the Republican elector plan. The two of them reached deals with prosecutors just before they were scheduled to go to trial, having asserted their rights to a speedy trial.
Days later, attorney Jenna Ellis, a vocal part of Trump’s reelection campaign in 2020,entered a tearful guilty plea.
Salacious allegations upend the case
In early January, a lawyer for co-defendant Michael Roman, a Trump campaign staffer and onetime White House aide, alleged in a court filing that Willis had improperly engaged in a romantic relationship withlawyer Nathan Wade, whom she had picked to lead the prosecution against Trump and the others.
Thecourt filing allegedthat Willis benefitted financially from the case since Wade used his earnings to take her on trips. It said that caused a conflict of interest and that Willis and her office should be removed from the case. Willis and Wadeacknowledged the relationshipbut said they had split travel and other costs.
During anextraordinary hearing, intimate details of Willis and Wade’s personal lives were aired in court and broadcast live on television. Judge McAfee chided Willis for a “tremendous lapse in judgment” butfound no conflict of interestthat merited her removal, as long as Wade left the case. Wade resigned hours later.
Trump and other defendants have appealed McAfee’s ruling. That appeal iscurrently pending beforethe Georgia Court of Appeals, which plans tohear arguments in Decemberand then must rule by mid-March. Meanwhile, the appeals court has barred McAfee from taking any further action in the case against Trump and the others participating in the appeal while it is pending.
What’s next
It’s not entirely clear.
Regardless of how the Court of Appeals rules, the losing side will likely ask the Georgia Supreme Court to weigh in. That would cause a further delay if the high court agrees to hear the case.
The general election in November, in which Trump is theRepublican nominee for president, provides more uncertainty. Even if the appellate courts ultimately decide that Willis can remain on the case, it seems unlikely she would be able to move forward with the prosecution against Trump while he’s president if he wins the election.
Complicating things further, theU.S. Supreme Court last month ruledthat former presidents have absolute immunity from prosecution for official acts that fall within their “exclusive sphere of constitutional authority” and are presumptively entitled to immunity for all official acts. They are not protected for unofficial, or private, actions.
Trump’s lawyers in Georgia had already filed a motion earlier this year asserting presidential immunity. If Willis is allowed to continue her prosecution at some point, his lawyers will surely use the Supreme Court ruling to argue it should be dismissed.
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