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Former President Trump on Aug. 5 in Columbia, S.C. Photo: Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images
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# Why Georgia's Case Against Trump Could Be So Damaging
August 14 2023
Written by Sareen Habeshian.
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TRUMP INDICTMENT WATCH - A legal tool normally reserved for the Mafia and organized crime could make [former President Trump's](https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump) next potential indictment his most damaging.
**Why it matters:** Georgia's expansive racketeering law — known as RICO — gives prosecutors a powerful tool to pursue charges in their investigation into Trump's attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
**What's happening:** Fulton County District Attorney [Fani Willis](https://www.axios.com/2023/04/24/trump-georgia-election-probe-charges-fani-willis), who has kept her plans quiet, says a charging decision could [come by Sept. 1](https://www.11alive.com/article/news/special-reports/ga-trump-investigation/fulton-co-da-fani-willis-discusses-big-decisions-ahead-of-trump-election-investigation-donald-2020-fraud/85-6ff845d7-ead5-4488-bec4-bde23b2ce627).
- Willis is expected to present her case to a grand jury early this week. Two [potential witnesses](https://twitter.com/neonflag/status/1690421276727279616), including a [former Georgia lieutenant governor](https://twitter.com/GeoffDuncanGA/status/1690432894789971968?s=20), said they were asked to appear on Tuesday.
**State of play:** Willis will likely invoke RICO when she presents her case to the grand jury, legal experts say.
- The law — inspired by federal statutes with the same name — allows prosecutors to string together crimes committed by different people toward one common goal.
- The DA's [investigation](https://www.axios.com/2023/02/16/donald-trump-investigation-2020-election-atlanta) has spanned two years and has involved testimony from dozens of witnesses.
**The big picture:** If charges are brought, they'd represent the fourth indictment against the 2024 GOP frontrunner since April.
- Trump has now pleaded not guilty to [state charges](https://www.axios.com/2023/03/30/trump-indicted-manhattan-grand-jury-criminal) in a hush-money case, [federal charges](https://www.axios.com/2023/06/13/trump-indictment-news-live-updates) in a classified documents case and [federal charges](https://www.axios.com/2023/08/03/trump-indictment-arraignment-jan-6-updates) in an election conspiracy case.
**Zoom in:** Experts point to several reasons why the potential Georgia charges could be more likely than the other cases to be damaging for Trump:
1. **The complexity of RICO cases** makes it difficult for lawyers to implement a coherent trial strategy, explained Anthony Michael Kreis, a law professor at Georgia State University.
- The stiff penalties associated with RICO charges are also a major incentive for co-defendants to seek deals in return for new evidence.
- "The defendants who are left standing without plea deals and grants of immunity may especially feel squeezed as the process goes on," Kreis said.
- Some Trump allies and supporters have already been informed by the DA's office that they are targets of the investigation, including [Rudy Giuliani](https://www.axios.com/2022/08/15/rudy-giuliani-target-georgia-election-investigation) and the GOP [electors](https://www.axios.com/2022/07/20/georgia-trump-2020-election-probe-names-gop-electors) who falsely "certified" Trump as Georgia's 2020 victor.
2. **Since Trump would face** state charges in Georgia, the sitting president won't have the ability to pardon him, Kreis said.
- In Georgia, the power to pardon is vested under the state constitution to a Board of Pardons and Paroles, which requires that a sentence be completed at least five years prior to applying for a pardon.
- "If he were to win the presidency or if a Republican sympathetic to him were to win ... the president of the United States can't pardon or can't dismiss," Kreis said. "That puts it in a very different light from the federal cases."
3. **While the federal judiciary**— and New York courts — are averse to televising criminal proceedings, Georgia courts are more transparent, Kreis notes.
- Georgia may end up being the only case that is broadcast to the world, potentially giving the public a better chance to digest the evidence — which could be politically damning for Trump.
**Between the lines:** Willis is considered a RICO expert who successfully prosecuted a large criminal case over a test cheating [scandal](https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/2015/04/01/11-atlanta-public-schools-educators-convicted-racketeering-test/15657062007/) in the Atlanta Public School System in 2015.
- She's also using the law to prosecute gang cases, including [one centered on Atlanta rapper Young Thug](https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2023/01/06/young-thug-trial-jury-seleciton-atlanta).
*(Sareen Habeshian is a breaking news reporter on the Newsdesk at [AXIOS](https://www.axios.com/2023/08/14/trump-georgia-rico-charges-fani-willis?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top) where this story was first published.)*
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