Fulton County DA Is Taking a Page Out of Giuliani's Playbook, Former Mayor Is Furious
Now they think he’s Don Corleone.
Former President Donald Trump is facing a unique legal battle in Georgia. He and 18 associates have been charged under the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which is typically used against organized crime and mob organizations.
These are the same anti-organized crime laws that former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani used to put away mafia bosses in the 1980s.
Giuliani — who revolutionized the use of this little-known federal law to bring down American mafia activities in New York City and obtain convictions for mobsters like “Fat Tony” Salerno, Carmine “Junior” Persico, and Paul Castellano, the New York Post reported — now, ironically, appears to be cast as a player in the legal chess match aimed at taking on the big kahuna: Donald Trump.
According to CBS, Georgia’s RICO statute is broader than its federal counterpart.
However, a conviction under RICO requires proving the existence of an enterprise engaging in criminal actions for a shared goal. This is why Trump is not the only defendant; Rudy Giuliani and others are also charged for their roles in the alleged racketeering scheme.
Giuliani called Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis an “incompetent, sloppy prosecutor,” the Post reported.
“This is a ridiculous application of the racketeering statute. There’s probably no one that knows it better than I do,” Giuliani said on Newsmax’s “The Balance” on Tuesday.
During a media briefing on Monday evening, Willis expressed her intention to bring all 19 defendants to trial as a single group and said they would be expected to surrender by Aug. 25.
But Willis has a high bar to reach in order to prove racketeering.
According to CBS News, in order to achieve a conviction, the prosecution needs to convince a jury that Trump committed a felony offense “‘by knowingly, willfully, and unlawfully making’ false statements and representations to state officials.”
Additionally, to prove the charge of racketeering, “prosecutors must convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that at least two of the racketeering activities are related in terms of method, purpose, or victims,” according to Morgan Cloud, a law professor at Emory University.
The smell of desperation reeks through the pages of the indictment, with some charges as far-fetched as calling Trump’s tweets encouraging people to watch OANN part of the “conspiracy.”
This is an actual line from the Georgia indictment.
This is not a criminal case. It is a bid to nullify the United States Constitution. pic.twitter.com/D7ZGSC4KMH
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) August 15, 2023
According to Axios, the Georgia case could be televised, which means the entire country will finally be able to hear Trump’s version of the events and see the evidence he says he has.
JUST IN: Donald Trump announces an “irrefutable report” will be dropping next Monday about alleged election fraud that took place in Georgia.
“A Large, Complex, Detailed but Irrefutable REPORT on the Presidential Election Fraud which took place in Georgia is almost complete &… pic.twitter.com/ZhrugUdAaM
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 15, 2023
Fani Willis may have just shot herself in the foot.
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