Yet another likely criminal indictment is looming over Donald Trump this week, which would deepen his already extreme legal quagmire and further divert an unparalleled election season from the campaign trail into multiple courtrooms.
Atlanta-area prosecutor Fani Willis, a Democrat, has called at least two key witnesses to appear before a grand jury on Tuesday in a sign that her probe into the ex-president’s bid to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia, a vital swing state, is nearing its end game. Willis is expected to seek charges against more than a dozen people. Trump believes he will be among them and is already fundraising off of the possibility of more criminal charges, casting them as Democratic efforts to interfere in the 2024 election.
If Trump does face any fresh charges, they would follow three previous indictments. He’s already facing a March trial in Manhattan over business fraud charges related to a 2016 hush money payment to an adult film actress. He’s also facing federal charges from special counsel Jack Smith’s two probes – in Florida, into his mishandling of classified documents, and in Washington, DC, over his efforts to subvert the 2020 election. He’s pleaded not guilty in all the cases against him so far.
But there will be key differences between the potential case in Georgia and Trump’s previous indictments. While Trump’s 2024 campaign has predominantly become an extension of his legal defense, any possible trial and conviction in Georgia would be far harder for him to meddle with if he is elected to a second term since presidential powers that could help him interfere with federal cases do not extend to local matters.
“Not only would he not be able to pardon himself, but the pardon process in Georgia means Gov. (Brian) Kemp would not be able to pardon him either. There’s a pardon board. So it’s a more complicated process,” former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti said on “CNN Newsroom” on Saturday. “He also would not be able to shut down the investigation in the same way.”
