2023-08-23 05:01:00
One of the 18 allies of Donald Trump -who are accused along with him for his attempts to reverse the electoral results in Georgia-, turned himself in on Tuesday to Justice. The former Republican president confirmed that he will do the same next Thursday.
Scott Hall, charged with conspiring to illegally access voter information and vote counting machines, turned himself in at the Fulton County Jail, according to the jail’s website. The former president’s ally faces seven criminal charges, including one for violation of the RICO law, commonly used against mob bosses. The court set his bail at $10,000.
Follow the alleged “witch hunt”
All the defendants in the electoral fraud case in Georgia have until Friday at noon to turn themselves in voluntarily, as determined by the prosecutor, Fani Willis. Trump confirmed Monday on Truth Social, the social network he created after being banned from Twitter and Facebook, that he will appear before authorities in Fulton next Thursday.
The former president pointed out that his “trip to the city of Atlanta” will not be to commit any murder, but to “make a perfect call”, referring to one of the main elements of the accusation: the recording of January 2, 2021 in which Trump asks Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find enough votes” to win the state. Four days later, the assault on the Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters occurred in Washington, while Joe Biden’s electoral victory was ratified.
In his publication, he took the opportunity to charge again against the prosecutor Willis, whom he accused, as he usually does, of leading a “witch hunt” against him. This case “is being conducted in strict coordination with the corrupt Joe Biden’s Department of Justice,” so “it is about election interference,” he added.
His statements came hours after his legal team agreed to the conditions that will allow him to remain free once he turns himself in in Georgia, which will likely include the payment of a $200,000 bail. Provisional release will mean for Trump that he will not be able to intimidate any of the other 18 defendants or potential witnesses. This could also limit his room for maneuver on social networks, according to The Hill portal.
numerous charges
According to the nearly 100-page indictment document, Trump faces 13 counts, including soliciting a public official to violate his oath and conspiring to impersonate a public official. All of the defendants were charged under an existing Georgia gang crime law, which is commonly used against gangs and carries penalties of between five and 20 years in prison.
After establishing the accusation last Tuesday, the prosecutor Willis explained in a press conference that the grand jury made its decision after learning the information collected for two and a half years by the prosecutors in charge of the investigation. He also assured that his intention is for all the defendants to be tried at the same time, and although he did not give an estimate of the date on which this trial could be held, he confirmed that his office will try to make it in the next six months.
The one in Georgia is the fourth indictment against Trump, a few weeks after he was indicted by a Washington DC grand jury on four charges, also for allegedly trying to reverse the result of the 2020 elections. In another case, Trump was indicted in New York with 34 charges for alleged payments to the porn actress Stormy Daniels, with whom he had an “affair” in the past to buy his silence during the 2016 election campaign. And the other criminal case is in the state of Florida: he is accused of 40 counts for illegally taking and keeping in his Mar-a-Lago mansion classified documents he removed from the White House.
absent in discussion
Trump’s surrender in Georgia comes the same week as the first Republican debate of the 2024 presidential race. However, the magnate indicated on Sunday that he has no intention of going, although he could change his mind, and in his place will go to the show of former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
“The public knows who I am and what a successful Presidency I had, with energy independence, strong borders and military, the biggest tax and regulatory cuts, no inflation, the strongest economy in history, and so much more. So, no! I will participate in the debates!”, he expressed in Truth Social.
According to the latest YouGov poll for CBS, he would have a huge advantage compared to the next candidate, Florida Governor Ron Desantis, beating him by almost 50 percentage points: Trump would have 62% vote intention among Republican voters, while Desantis 16%. The other competitors, from former Vice President Mike Pence to former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, are falling short of double digits. The ex-president referred to these figures, remarking that his closest rival “is crashing like a sick bird”, while he leads the survey “with legendary figures”.
Even if Trump were to win next year’s election, if he were convicted of the case in which he will surrender on Thursday, he could not be pardoned or have the prosecution drop the charges, because this is a case in the Georgia state courts, about which the federal state has no authority.
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