Georgia RICO Charges May Give Trump Allies 'Incentive' to Flip: Lawyer

Former President Donald Trump may face a fourth indictment in Georgia by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, and the possibility of a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) charge could be a "significant incentive" for people to flip on him, law professor and political scientist Anthony Michael Kreis said on Saturday.

It has been strongly suggested for weeks that Willis will soon seek an indictment against Trump as part of her long-running probe into whether the former president broke the law in an alleged bid to overturn the 2020 presidential election result in Georgia. The investigation includes a call in which Trump allegedly asked Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state, to find enough votes to flip the state in his favor.

There has also long been speculation that Willis will use the state's RICO charges in her case, a statute commonly used in organized crime cases that allows prosecutors to charge multiple people with separate offenses while working towards a common goal.

It is believed that Willis will present evidence to a grand jury and ask them to bring forward an indictment in her investigation of Trump and others by August 15, The New York Times and The Guardian reported. Trump has long denied any wrongdoing in connection to Willis' probe and accused it of being a politically motivated witch hunt.

While speaking on MSNBC's The Katie Phang Show on Saturday, Kreis said, "Because of the severity of RICO and the punishments that come with a RICO charge, in addition to the traditional election law violations there might be a significant incentive for a number of the people who weren't really at the top of the food chain to provide evidence and to flip and secure deals with the DA."

The law professor and political scientist added: "I do think we're going to see a very large sweeping indictment with multiple co-defendants."

Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg also agreed with Kreis telling Newsweek on Saturday that "the Georgia RICO law is tougher than federal law in some ways, such as a five-year mandatory minimum prison sentence. That's the kind of thing that will adjust some attitudes."

Trump is currently facing 78 felony charges in total, spread across three cases that include charges related to claims he orchestrated a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election, mishandled classified documents, and broke the law attempting to reverse the 2020 election outcome.

Before Trump, no former president had been charged with a criminal offense in American history. He has denied any wrongdoing in all three cases and insists the charges against him are politically motivated as he runs for president in 2024. Polling shows he is the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, meaning his ongoing legal battles could have a significant impact on who occupies the White House from January 2025 onwards.

Meanwhile on Saturday, Trump took to Truth Social, his social media platform, and wrote: "I hear that RACIST Fulton County (Atlanta) District Attorney 'Phoney' Fani Willis, who weakly presides over one of the deadliest communities in the U.S., with thousands of murderers, violent criminals & gang members roaming the streets while going untried, free, & are treated with 'kid gloves,' is using a potential Indictment of me, and other innocent people, as a campaign and fundraising CON JOB, all based on a PERFECT PHONE CALL, AS PRESIDENT, CHALLENGING ELECTION FRAUD - MY DUTY & RIGHT!"

Kreis then responded to Trump on X, formerly known as Twitter, writing, "Besides the patently absurd statements about Atlanta, which he will no doubt use to impugn the jury pool, 'Phoney Willis' is not his worst attack nickname."