Former President Donald Trump will hold a press conference next week to address his fourth indictment, predicting a “complete EXONERATION” following the presentation of what Trump described as a “Large, Complex, Detailed but Irrefutable REPORT on the Presidential Election Fraud which took place in Georgia.”
“A Large, Complex, Detailed but Irrefutable REPORT on the Presidential Election Fraud which took place in Georgia is almost complete & will be presented by me at a major News Conference at 11:00 A.M. on Monday of next week in Bedminster, New Jersey,” Trump said in a Truth Social post Tuesday morning, mere hours after the release of his fourth indictment.
“Based on the results of this CONCLUSIVE Report, all charges should be dropped against me & others – There will be a complete EXONERATION!” he declared. “They never went after those that Rigged the Election. They only went after those that fought to find the RIGGERS!”
Trump’s scheduled press conference follows the late night Fulton County indictment as part of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s investigation into the former president.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis April 19, 2023, in Atlanta. (Brynn Anderson/AP)
The 98-page indictment lists Trump and 18 other co-defendants, including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who appears to be included for merely asking for a phone number.
Per the indictment:
On or about the 21st day of November 2020, MARK RANDALL MEADOWS sent a text message to United States Representative Scott Perry from Pennsylvania and stated, “Can you send me the number for the speaker and the leader of PA Legislature. POTUS wants to chat with them.” This was an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.
Mark Meadows (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
The overall indictment is tremendously controversial, given that it repeatedly cites actions —such as Trump touting public hearings about the allegations of voter irregularities — as “act[s] in furtherance of the conspiracy.”
For example:
On or about the 30th day of December 2020, DONALD JOHN TRUMP caused to be tweeted from the Twitter account @RealDonaldTrump, “Hearings from Atlanta on the Georgia Election overturn now being broadcast. Check it out. @OANN @newsmax and many more. @BrianKempGA should resign from office. He is an obstructionist who refuses to admit that we won Georgia, BIG! Also won the other Swing States.” This was an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.
…
On or about the 30th day of December 2020, DONALD JOHN TRUMP caused to be tweeted from the Twitter account @RealDonaldTrump, “Hearings from Atlanta on the Georgia Election overturn now being broadcast LIVE via @RSBNetwork! https://t.co/ogBvaKfqG.” This was an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.
It does not end there either, as another portion of the indictment essentially criminalizes the act of simply reserving a room for hearings, categorizing it as an “act in furtherance of the conspiracy.”
For example:
On or about the 11th day of December 2020, DAVID JAMES SHAFER reserved Room 216 at the Georgia State Capitol in Fulton County, Georgia, for the December 14, 2020, meeting of Trump presidential elector nominees in Fulton County, Georgia. This was an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.
Other alleged acts in “furtherance of the conspiracy” include basic items protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution, which Trump’s critics claim to have a devotion to. Such items include Trump encouraging a special session of the state legislature and his criticism of Georgia’s elected officials.
Nearly two weeks ago, Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat promised that former President Donald Trump would have a mugshot taken if indicted. It remains unclear if that vow will come to fruition.
