Atlanta: After a thorough, two-year investigation into his attempts to overturn his loss to Joe Biden in the US state of Georgia in the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump was indicted on Tuesday on charges of racketeering and a number of election crimes.
This year's fourth case against the 77-year-old Republican has relied on laws typically used to prosecute organised crime figures. If successful, it could mark a turning point in US history by becoming the first televised trial of a former president.
A firestorm of investigations is jeopardising the Republican leader's bid for a second term in office, and Atlanta prosecutors have charged him with 13 felonies, adding to the legal threats he already faces in multiple jurisdictions.
The latest accusations herald the unprecedented scenario of the 2024 presidential election being litigated as much from the courtroom as from the ballot box, given that the tycoon is already scheduled to stand trial in New York, south Florida, and Washington.
Trump, who has been impeached twice, was charged with breaking Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations (RICO) Act as well as six conspiracy counts for allegedly trying to forge documents, impersonate public servants, and submit false information.
The indictment listed several co-defendants, including Trump's former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, who put pressure on regional legislators regarding the election's outcome, and Mark Meadows, Trump's chief of staff in the White House.
Georgia, where Biden narrowly defeated Trump by less than 12,000 votes, represents arguably the biggest threat to Trump's freedom as he comfortably leads the race for his party's nomination to run for reelection.
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Even if he were to regain the Presidency, he would not have the authority to pardon himself or order the case against him to be dropped that presidents arguably have in the federal system.
RICO laws are frequently applied to combat organised crime.
Anyone who has a connection to a criminal "enterprise" through which crimes were committed may be found guilty under RICO, according to federal law. Even the existence of the enterprise is not required by the more general Georgia law.
When Trump called Georgia officials weeks before he was scheduled to leave the White House, he urged them to "find" the 11,780 votes that would overturn Biden's victory in the Peach State. This prompted Atlanta-area authorities to launch the investigation.
The chief prosecutor for Fulton County, District Attorney Fani Willis, appointed a special grand jury that heard testimony from about 75 witnesses before recommending a number of felony counts in a covert report in February.
She claims that members of Trump's team collaborated with local Republicans on a plan to install phoney pro-Trump stand-ins in place of legitimate slates of "electors" who certify state results and send them to the US Congress.
After being federally indicted for the alleged plot to rig the election, Trump is already facing dozens of felony charges. He also faces additional prosecutions for allegedly mishandling classified documents and maintaining false business records.
In Atlanta, authorities have set up security barriers outside the courthouse in the city's centre in preparation for a potential influx of Trump supporters and anti-Trump protesters in the most recent case.
Republicans in Congress have largely come together to support Trump's defence against what they refer to as a politically-motivated "witch hunt" by Democrats who control the Justice Department.
The billionaire property tycoon, who denies all wrongdoing, will be tried by a jury, which will determine whether the prosecution has proven criminal intent on his part.
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In a series of congressional hearings last summer, lawmakers looking into Trump's attempts to hold onto power heard evidence that would refute his potential justification that he truly believed he had been cheated out of the election.Many former government officials, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, described how Trump privately admitted defeat.
And a federal judge based in California who presided over a dispute regarding evidence requested by Congress last year ruled that Trump had signed legal documents describing evidence of election fraud that he knew to be false
