Lawyers representing former President Donald Trump slammed the “glaring constitutional violations” that appear to be evident in Fulton County DA Fani Willis’ case after the “indictment” leaked before the grand jury had made its decision.
On Monday, Reuters reported that it had obtained a list of the 39 felony charges levied against the former president in Fulton County from the district website. Willis’ office has since claimed that the leak was “inaccurate,” but it has already sparked a fury among elected Republicans and conservative pundits, who have said the jury is “tainted.”
Charges include Conspiracy to Commit Forgery, Conspiracy to Commit False Statements and Writings, Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer, and several additional felonies. Willis also intends to charge the former president with a Violation of the Georgia RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act, a serious felony generally used to take down criminal gangs.
“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,” Trump’s legal team said in a statement Monday. “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.”
Trump’s attorneys did not indicate whether they intend to file a motion to dismiss the case, as has been suggested by a number of GOP lawmakers, as well as presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Willis has denied that a decision was made before the grand jury had convened.