(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Devil Went Down To Georgia: The Big, Ugly Picture [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-08-26 First of two parts looking at the criminal indictment in Georgia. The long-awaited indictment by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis came down like a sledgehammer. Nineteen defendants – including four-time indicted, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump – 30 unindicted co-conspirators, 41 different offenses spread in various combinations among those facing charges, all explained in the nearly-100-page filing. And the attention-grabbing charge of Violation of the Georgia Rico (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization) Act stemming from what Willis characterized as a “criminal enterprise” that she described like this: “This criminal organization constituted an enterprise as defined [in the law] that is a group of individuals associated in fact. The defendants and other members and associates of the enterprise had connections and relationships with one another and with the enterprise. The enterprise constituted an ongoing organization whose members and associates functioned as a continuing unit for a common purpose of achieving the objectives of the enterprise.” The wide scope of the indictment is shown by its inclusion of alleged activities outside Fulton County. It alleges the following “manner and methods” were used by the defendants to achieve their goal of overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election: *False statements to and solicitation of state legislatures: Made false statements to state legislators in hearings and meetings in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, and Pennsylvania in an attempt to get them to appoint alternate presidential electors who would vote for Trump in the Electoral College instead of Joe Biden (who actually won those states). *False statements to and solicitation of high-ranking state officials: Made false statements to officials in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, and Pennsylvania in an attempt to solicit them to change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump. *Creation and distribution of false Electoral College documents: Created phony slates of electors by recruited individuals in Georgia to convene and cast false votes with the intention of disrupting and delaying the joint session of Congress that would certify the vote. Similar schemes were executed in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. *Harassment and intimidation of Fulton County election worker Ruby Freeman: Falsely accused Freeman of committing election crimes in an effort to persuade Georgia officials to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in that state. In furtherance of this scheme, individuals traveled from out of state to harass Freeman, intimidate her, and solicit her to falsely confess to election crimes she did not commit. *Solicitation of high-ranking U.S. Department of Justice officials: DOJ officials were solicited to make false statements to government officials in Georgia. In one instance, Trump allegedly told the acting U.S. attorney general to “Just say that the election was corrupt, and leave the rest to me and the Republican congressmen.” *Solicitation of the vice president of the United States: Vice President Mike Pence was solicited to violate the U.S. Constitution and federal law by unlawfully rejecting Electoral College votes cast in Georgia and several other states. (In the end, Pence refused to cooperate.) *Unlawful breach of election equipment in Georgia and elsewhere: Conspired in George and elsewhere to unlawfully access secure voting equipment and voter data. In Georgia, data -- including ballot images, voting equipment software, and personal voter information -- was stolen. This information was distributed to others in the enterprise, including those in other states. *Obstructive acts in furtherance of the conspiracy and the coverup: Members of the enterprise filed false documents, made false statements to government investigators, and committed perjury in judicial proceedings in Georgia and elsewhere in furtherance of and to cover up the conspiracy. You can read the full indictment here. *** I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a criminal enterprise to me. One with multiple tentacles all working toward the same goal. Of course, the proof is always in the pudding. Willis and her team will have to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury to get any convictions in the case – a job possibility made harder by the firehose of lies Trump and the Right will drench the country in leading up to a trial. The goal here is to simply layout the alleged case. All citizens have a responsibility to educate themselves on a matter of this much historical significance and its possible effect on our democracy and rule of law. *** Thank you for reading my post. You can see more of my writing on my blog: Musings of a Nobody. Also, please check out my video blog: The 3:13 on Politics. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/26/2189762/-The-Devil-Went-Down-To-Georgia-The-Big-Ugly-Picture Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/