Former President Donald Trump and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani commented on their Georgia indictment along with 17 others.
Trump took to Truth Social referring to the indictment as a “witch hunt.”
“So, the Witch Hunt continues!” Trump wrote. “Nineteen people Indicated tonight, including the former President of the United States, me, by an out of control and very corrupt District Attorney who campaigned and raised money on, ‘I will get Trump.'”
“And what about those Indictment Documents put out today, long before the Grand Jury even voted, and then quickly withdrawn?” Trump said of the leaked indictment Monday afternoon. “Sounds Rigged to me! Why didn’t they Indict 2.5 years ago? Because they wanted to do it right in the middle of my political campaign.”
“Witch Hunt!”
Trump, just now, on Truth Social:
“So, the Witch Hunt continues! 19 people Indicated tonight, including the former President of the United States, me, by an out of control and very corrupt District Attorney who campaigned and raised money on, “I will get Trump.” And what about…
— Pure America News (@PureAmericaNews) August 15, 2023
“This is an affront to American Democracy and does permanent, irrevocable harm to our justice system,” Giuliani wrote in a statement. “It’s just the next chapter in a book of lies with the purpose of framing President Donald Trump and anyone willing to take on the ruling regime.”
“They lied about Russian collusion, they lied about Joe Biden’s foreign bribery scheme, and they lied about Hunter Biden’s laptop hard drive proving 30 years of criminal activity,” he continued. “The real criminals here are the people who have brought this case forward both directly and indirectly.”
#BREAKING Rudy Giuliani has also released a statement: pic.twitter.com/KzjHkfZUJa
— Pure America News (@PureAmericaNews) August 15, 2023
Trump has been indicted over allegations of violating the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Eighteen others, including Giuliani, have been charged along with the former President over the RICO Act and other alleged acts to conspire in regards to the 2020 Presidential Election.
Defendants have been given the opportunity to voluntarily surrender no later than noon on Aug. 25, said Fulton County, Georgia district attorney Fani Willis. All 19 defendants will be tried together.
Every individual charged is charged with one count of violating the RICO Act in Fulton County and elsewhere “to accomplish the illegal goal of allowing Donald J Trump to seize the presidential term of office, beginning on January, 2021,” said Willis during a Monday night press conference following the indictment.
“Specifically, the participants in association took various actions in Georgia and elsewhere to block the counting of the votes of the presidential electors who were certified as the winners of Georgia’s 2020 general election,” the Fulton County DA continued. “As you examine the indictment, you will see acts that are identified as overt acts, and those that are identified as predicate acts, sometimes called acts of racketeering activity. Overt acts are not necessarily crimes under Georgia law in isolation, but are alleged to be acts taken in furtherance of the conspiracy.”
“I remind everyone here that an indictment is only a series of allegations based on a grand jury’s determination of probable cause to support the charges,” she concluded. “It is now the duty of my office to prove these charges in the indictment beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.”
One reporter questioned the Fulton County DA on the leaked indictment Monday afternoon, though Willis did not answer.
“No, I can’t tell you anything about what you refer to,” she said. “What I can tell you is that we had a grand jury here in Fulton County, they deliberated till almost 8:00, if not right after 8:00, an indictment was returned.”
“It was true build and we now have an indictment. I am not an expert on clerks, duties, or even administrative duties,” she continued. “I wouldn’t know how to work that system. And so I’m not going to speculate.”
This is the former president’s fourth indictment this year.