Why Trump’s Georgia indictment is a 'reminder of the genius of American federalism': op-ed

15 August 2023

States United Democracy Center Co-Founder and Executive Chair Norm Eisen and Savannah, Georgia criminal defense and appellate attorney Amy Lee Copeland published an opinion column in Tuesday's New York Times exploring why Willis' case "is a reminder of the genius of American federalism" because "when our democracy is threatened, states have an indispensable part to play in protecting it."

First, the authors begin by noting that the complaint against Trump in Georgia holds key distinctions from those filed by United States Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, namely that it "charges a wide range of conspirators" and that the trial "will almost certainly be televised."

Eisen and Copeland believe that it "stands out, above all, because Georgia uniquely compelling evidence of election interference — and a set of state criminal statutes tailor-made for the sprawling, loosely organized wrongdoing."

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They continue, "At 98 pages, Ms. Willis' indictment is more than twice the size of Mr. Smith's indictment in his Jan. 6 case and contains 19 defendants to his one. The indictment charges 41 counts (to Mr. Smith's four) — among them, Georgia election crimes like solicitation of violation of oath by public officer (for Mr. Trump's infamous demand to Georgia's secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, to just 'find 11,780 votes') and state offenses like forgery and conspiracy to commit forgery (for creating fake electoral certificates) and conspiracy to commit computer trespass (for unlawfully accessing election machines in Coffee County to attempt to prove that votes were stolen)."

Additionally, Eisen and Copeland write, "The large cast of defendants populates a complete conspiracy chain of command," and "Willis ties them all together by levying one charge against Mr. Trump and each of the 18 other defendants under Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, or RICO, accusing Mr. Trump and his co-conspirators of functioning as a criminal gang."

This is a strong approach, Copeland and Eisen say, because Georgia's RICO law states that "prosecutors can charge a sprawling criminal enterprise and even include individuals who may not have known 'of the others' existence,' as one court put it."

The veteran attorneys think that Willis' reputation for effectively using RICO statutes in criminal trials is another boon to her pursuit of justice.

Eisen and Copeland recall that Willis "applied it in cases like the Atlanta teacher cheating scandal, in which educators engaged in a wide-ranging scheme to inflate scores on standardized tests, and the prosecution of the rapper Young Thug, in which he co-founded a street gang that was accused of committing almost 200 criminal acts." Now, Willis "accuses Mr. Trump of functioning like a gang leader overseeing a theft ring, except instead of stealing cash or cars, he and his allies are accused of attempting to purloin the Georgia presidential election results."

Copeland and Eisen add that Trump "and his co-conspirators may attempt to challenge the RICO charges on technical grounds, for example, arguing that the conspiracies are not sufficiently related under the statute. But Ms. Willis powerfully alleges otherwise, in particular emphasizing the unifying objective of Mr. Trump's wrongfully seizing Georgia's electoral votes."

Eisen and Copeland also stress that Willis' "final important advantage" over Smith is that presidential pardons cannot be applied to state crimes.

View Eisen's and Copeland's complete editorial at this link (subscription required).

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