Trump About to be Indicted - Report

WASHINGTON - Oct. 31, 2022 - PRLog -- "GOP Bracing For Trump Indictment Soon After Election Day," says THE HILL.

It reports that "Republican aides and strategists privately expect Attorney General Merrick Garland to pursue an indictment of former President Trump within 60 to 90 days after Election Day, predicting the window for prosecuting Trump will close once the 2024 presidential campaign gains momentum. . . .  A couple of weeks after the election, I assume that Garland will indict Trump," said one veteran Republican aide, expressing a sentiment shared by several other GOP aides and strategists."

As THE HILL notes, "There are actually two different investigatory probes that could lead to indictments of Trump.  One is related to the documents taken from the White House and found at Mar-a-Lago, while the other concerns the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol."

But, says public interest law professor John Banzhaf, the same pressures to indict, and the same pressures to wait until after the coming elections, also apply to Fulton County DA Fani Willis,  So it is possible, if not likely, that she will be the first to indict the former president, predicts Banzhaf, whose formal legal complaint led to the current criminal investigation of Trump in Georgia.

It's also possible, he notes, that indictments from both will occur at about the same time - providing double the trouble for Trump, and undercutting the arguments that the President is simply going after his most likely challenger.

Banzhaf recently filed additional evidence and analysis with Willis which might help strengthen what appears to be an already strong criminal case against Trump.

Others agree. For example, Laurence Tribe, professor emeritus of constitutional law at Harvard University, wrote "It wouldn't surprise me for Georgia to become the first jurisdiction to indict a former president on felony charges. , , , And I think the charges will stick."
Banzhaf's complaint to Willis also charged Trump with violating two additional criminal statutes: GA Code § 21-2-603 - Conspiracy to Commit Election Fraud, and also GA Code § 21-2-597 - Intentional Interference With Performance of Election Duties.

In addition, Willis plans to use Georgia's RICO - its Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act - in any prosecution of Trump.

Banzhaf, who is familiar with the federal RICO statute since he produced the memo which led to the federal government's successful RICO prosecution against the major tobacco companies, points out that the Georgia RICO statute is even more powerful and far reaching than the federal one.

jbanzhaf3ATgmail.com   @profbanzhaf