Trump Co-Defendants Likely Told to 'Think Seriously' About Flipping: Lawyer

Former President Donald Trump's 18 co-defendants listed in the Georgia indictment are likely being told by their lawyers to think seriously about flipping and providing evidence against him, lawyer and legal analyst Neal Katyal said on Sunday.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis who has been leading the investigation into Trump and his allies for over two-and-a-half years, indicted the former president on 13 felony counts on Monday.

Prosecutors allege that Trump and his allies attempted to overturn the state's election results through false statements, harassment and solicitation of several state and federal officials. All 19 defendants in the case are facing one count in violation of the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which makes it a crime to participate in a "pattern of racketeering activity" or conspiring to do so. A RICO charge can be applied even if the alleged scheme was unsuccessful. Trump, meanwhile, has maintained his innocence in the case.

Prominent Trump associates like his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows were included in the indictment. All 18 co-defendants joining the ex-president in the indictment face other varying charges.

While speaking to MSNBC host Jen Psaki on Sunday, Katyal was asked who potentially poses the largest threat to Trump amid the 18 co-defendants.

"It's hard to say," Katyal replied. "If lawyers for any of the 18 Jen, I think would be advising their client right now to think seriously about flipping and providing evidence because you don't have the ability to kind of hope that you're going to get a pardon from the president or some Republican president in the future."

He continued: "I'd be looking first at Rudy Giuliani, who's obviously been steadfast and loyal to this point, but Trump isn't paying his bills and so that's obviously going to create some problems and he has a lot of exposure. I would also say Mark Meadows, the chief of staff, who's kind of danced this dance for a long time about avoiding charges by somewhat cooperating with the feds. He's, I think, being called in Georgia in a much more dramatic way because he's indicted."

Katyal also added attorney Ken Chesebro to his list saying, "All of these people are rich targets." Chesebro was included in Willis' indictment and was charged with seven counts including racketeering; conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer; conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree; conspiracy to commit false statements and writings; and conspiracy to commit filing false documents.

Newsweek has reached out to Trump's campaign via email for comment.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Turley, law professor at George Washington University, told Newsweek on Sunday, "The Georgia indictment is a classic 'charge-them-all-and-let-God-sort-them-out' tactic. These defendants are facing financial and professional ruin as well as significant jail sentences. Prosecutors often use such charges to flip defendants."

He added: "It often works. Desperation can set in as savings are exhausted before trial. However, they demand testimony that will advance the prosecution of higher ranked defendants, particularly Trump."

Alan Dershowitz, emeritus professor of law at Harvard Law School, also told Newsweek on Sunday, "Of course some will be tempted to make deal."

After being indicted, Giuliani took to X, formerly known as Twitter and wrote on Tuesday, "This indictment is an affront to American Democracy and does permanent, irrevocable harm to our justice system. It's just the next chapter in a book of lies with the purpose of framing President Donald Trump and anyone willing to take on the ruling regime."

He added: "They lied about Russian collusion, they lied about Joe Biden's foreign bribery scheme, and they lied about Hunter Biden's laptop hard drive proving 30 years of criminal activity. The real criminals here are the people who have brought this case forward both directly and indirectly."