UNITED STATES NEWS

Atlanta begins to brace for the potential of a new Trump indictment as soon as next week

Aug 9, 2023, 9:47 AM

ATLANTA (AP) — Donald Trump and officials in Atlanta are bracing for a new indictment that could come as soon as next week in a Georgia prosecutor’s investigation into the former president’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state.

Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat has said he’s in meetings “every day” to prepare for a possible indictment. In anticipation of potential charges, his deputies erected barriers last week along the block in front of the main courthouse. The street was closed this week, and parking is prohibited on nearby streets. Those measures are to remain in place through the end of next week, Labat’s office said.

Trump has said he expects to be indicted a fourth time by next week and has begun stepping up his criticism of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who has spent two years leading the election probe into Trump and his allies. Speaking to supporters in New Hampshire on Tuesday, the Republican former president launched highly personal attacks on Willis and called the 52-year-old Democratic prosecutor, who is Black, “a young woman, a young racist in Atlanta.”

“She’s got a lot of problems. But she wants to indict me to try to run for some other office,” Trump said.

A spokesperson for Willis declined to comment on Trump’s criticism. Her office hasn’t said whether charges against Trump will come next week.

Willis told law enforcement and local government leaders in a letter in April that she expected to announce charging decisions by the end of the current court term, which ends Sept. 1. She advised law enforcement to prepare for “heightened security,” noting that the announcement of charges “may provoke a significant public reaction.”

A few weeks later, she seemed to narrow that window further in a letter to the chief judge of the county superior court. She indicated that she planned to have much of her staff work remotely for most days during the first three weeks of August and asked that judges not schedule trials and in-person hearings during part of that time, notably on the days when grand juries meet.

Two grand juries were seated last month to serve through the end of the court term, one meeting Mondays and Tuesdays and the other meeting Thursdays and Fridays. Both of those grand juries have been regularly churning out lots of indictments in criminal cases unrelated to Trump, meaning it’s unlikely they’ve had time to hear evidence in the election investigation.

With the window Willis indicated to the chief judge closing Aug. 18 and the sheriff’s traffic restrictions set to end at the same time, it seems a good bet that an indictment will come next week.

If an indictment charges Trump, it would be the fourth to do so this year and the second to focus on the former president’s efforts to overturn his presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

The U.S. Department of Justice earlier this month obtained a four-count indictment in Washington that focuses on Trump’s efforts in the months between the November 2020 presidential election and the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to subvert the vote and remain in power.

That was the second indictment sought against Trump by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith. A federal grand jury in Florida in June returned an indictment alleging the mishandling of classified documents.

And a New York grand jury indicted Trump in March, charging him with 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to a porn actor during the 2016 presidential election.

Trump has pleaded not guilty in all three cases and has relentlessly rained criticism on the prosecutors in speeches and online, accusing them of launching politically motivated attacks against the clear front-runner for the Republican nomination for president in 2024.

The Georgia investigation was prompted by a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a fellow Republican. Trump suggested the state’s top elections official could help “find 11,780 votes” needed to put him ahead of Biden in the state.

Trump has insisted he did nothing wrong and has repeatedly said the call was “perfect.”

United States News

Associated Press

Detroit on track to record fewest homicides since 1966, officials say

The city of Detroit is on-track to see its fewest yearly homicides in nearly six decades, officials said Monday. Through Nov. 30, Detroit had recorded 228 homicides — an 18% decrease over the same period last year. In 2018, Detroit had 261 homicides, the fewest number since 1966, when there were 214 homicides. Officials credit […]

41 minutes ago

Associated Press

More than $950,000 raised for Palestinian student paralyzed after being shot in Vermont

More than $950,000 has been raised for the recovery of one of the three college students of Palestinian descent who was shot in Vermont and is currently paralyzed from the chest down, according to a GoFundMe page set up by his family. One of the bullets that hit Hisham Awartani on Nov. 25 is lodged […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

Remains found in Indiana in 1982 identified as those of Wisconsin woman who vanished at age 20

RICHMOND, Ind. (AP) — Human remains found in rural Indiana in 1982 have been identified as those of a Wisconsin woman who was 20 when she vanished more than four decades ago, authorities said. The remains are those of Connie Lorraine Christensen, who was from the Madison, Wisconsin-area community of Oregon, said Lauren Ogden, chief […]

3 hours ago

Associated Press

Judge drops felony charges against ex-elections official in Virginia

MANASSAS, Va. (AP) — A Virginia judge has dismissed felony charges against a former county elections official accused of misconduct in the 2020 election, a decision made after state prosecutors said a key witness changed his story. At the prosecutors’ request, the judge on Friday dismissed a felony charge of corrupt conduct and one for […]

5 hours ago

Philadelphia police officers outside of the Macy's in Center City after reports of an alleged stabb...

Associated Press

Man suspected of shoplifting stabs 2 security guards at Philadelphia store, killing 1

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A man who had tried to steal merchandise from a department store in Philadelphia returned 15 minutes later and stabbed two security guards, killing one and injuring the other, city police said. The attack at the Macy’s store occurred shortly after 11 a.m. Monday. Security guards saw the man attempting to steal […]

5 hours ago

Associated Press

Man suspected of killing 4, including a 1-year-old, at a Dallas home kills self during police chase

DALLAS (AP) — A man suspected of killing four people, including a 1-year-old boy, and injuring a 15-year-old girl in a shooting at a Dallas home fatally shot himself during a chase with law enforcement, police said Monday. Byron Carillo, 21, fled the home after the shooting late Sunday afternoon and then stole a vehicle, […]

6 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

(KTAR News Graphic)...

KTAR launches online holiday auction benefitting Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley

KTAR is teaming up with The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley for a holiday auction benefitting thousands of Valley kids.

Follow @KTAR923...

The 2023 Diamondbacks are a good example to count on the underdog

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the World Series as a surprise. That they made the playoffs at all, got past the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Wild Card round, swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS and won two road games in Philadelphia to close out a full seven-game NLCS went against every expectation. Now, […]

...

Desert Institute for Spine Care

Desert Institute for Spine Care (DISC) wants to help Valley residents address back, neck issues through awake spine surgery

As the weather begins to change, those with back issues can no longer rely on the dry heat to aid their backs. That's where DISC comes in.

Atlanta begins to brace for the potential of a new Trump indictment as soon as next week