Former President Trump and 18 allies face 41 criminal counts related to interference in the 2020 presidential election after being indicted by a Fulton County, Ga., grand jury Monday.
On Tuesday, Trump and others answered the charges in the indictment.
The former president vowed that next week he will release a report that shows “fraud” in the Georgia election. Trump-alligned attorney Jenna Ellis responded to her indictment by attacking prosecutors. And attorneys for David Shafer, who served as chairman of the Georgia Republican Party in 2020 and is charged alongside Trump, claimed he is “totally innocent” on Tuesday.
The indictment comes just over a week before Trump may — or may not — join other Republican presidential candidates on the debate stage in Milwaukee.
Follow along all day for updates as the nearly 100-page indictment is digested and dissected.
Fulton County explains document snafu
The office of the clerk for the Fulton County, Ga., court system admitted to accidentally posting a “sample working document” related to former President Trump’s indictment hours before the grand jury completed its work.
The Tuesday statement came after the office blamed media outlets Monday for sharing what it called a “fictitious document.”
— Rebecca Beitsch
John Eastman’s lawyer calls indictment unconstitutional
Harvey Silverglate, John Eastman’s attorney, called the indictment unconstitutional for criminalizing lawful political speech and legal advice.
“The indictment in Georgia vs. Donald Trump and 18 others sets out activity that is political, but not criminal,” Silverglate said in a statement.
Eastman, an attorney who forwarded memos that spurred Trump’s pressure campaign on former Vice President Mike Pence in the lead up to Jan. 6, is charged with nine counts in the indictment.
“Lawyers everywhere should be sleepless over this latest stunt to criminalize their advocacy,” Silverglate said. “This is a legal cluster-bomb that leaves unexploded ordinances for lawyers to navigate in perpetuity. Dr. Eastman will challenge this indictment in any and all forums available to him.”
Eastman is also one of the six unindicted co-conspirators in Trump’s federal 2020 election criminal case.
— Zach Schonfeld
Former Georgia GOP chair says he’s innocent
Attorneys for David Shafer, who served as chairman of the Georgia Republican Party in 2020 and is charged alongside former President Trump, claimed he is “totally innocent” Tuesday.
“David Shafer is totally innocent of the charges filed against him yesterday in Fulton County Superior Court,” the two law firms representing Shafer said in a statement.
“His conduct regarding the 2020 Presidential election was appropriate and specifically authorized by the U.S. Constitution, federal and state law and long standing legal precedent,” the statment continued.
Shafer was one of the individuals who signed documents purporting to be Georgia’s electors. He faces eight total charges, including accusations of lying during an interview with prosecutors last year.
– Zach Schonfeld
Raffensperger offers just two sentences in response to indictment
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, to whom former President Trump made a phone call about finding more votes in 2021, responded Tuesday to Trump’s indictment in Fulton County court.
“The most basic principles of a strong democracy are accountability and respect for the Constitution and rule of law. You either have it, or you don’t,” he said in a statement.
Kemp takes Trump to task
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) hit back at former President Trump’s fraudulent election claims, the day after Trump was indicted by a Fulton County grand jury.
“The 2020 election in Georgia was not stolen,” Kemp tweeted. “For nearly three years now, anyone with evidence of fraud has failed to come forward – under oath – and prove anything in a court of law. Our elections in Georgia are secure, accessible, and fair and will continue to be as long as I am governor.”
Read more here.
— Lauren Sforza
Jenna Ellis responds to being indicted
Trump-alligned attorney Jenna Ellis, who was charged with two counts, responded to her indictment by attacking prosecutors Tuesday.
“The Democrats and the Fulton County DA are criminalizing the practice of law,” Ellis wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “I am resolved to trust the Lord and I will simply continue to honor, praise, and serve Him. I deeply appreciate all of my friends who have reached out offering encouragement and support.”
Like the other defendants, Ellis faces the racketeering charge. She is also charged with soliciting a public officer to violate their oath in connection with her attendance at a Dec. 3, 2020, Georgia Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing.
— Zach Schonfeld
Trump attorneys criticize events leading up to Georgia indictment
Former President Trump’s attorneys on Tuesday called the events leading up to the Georgia indictment “shocking and absurd” after a mysterious document was pulled from the court website.
The document, purporting to indict Trump on several criminal charges, appeared on the website Monday afternoon, before it was quickly removed. While the information appeared to be posted in error, Trump’s attorneys were quick to zero in on the incident and claimed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) “decided to force through and rush” the indictment — without providing additional evidence.
Read more here.
— Sarah Fortinsky
Top Democrats urge Trump not to interfere with legal process
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) urged former President Trump and his supporters not to interfere with the legal process as it plays out in Georgia following Monday night’s indictment.
“As a nation built on the rule of law, we urge Mr. Trump, his supporters, and his critics to allow the legal process to proceed without outside interference,” they wrote.
Read more here.
— Sarah Fortinsky
McCarthy, Jordan line up behind Trump after fourth indictment
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) flocked to former President Trump’s side in the wake of his latest indictment in Georgia over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election in the state.
“Justice should be blind, but Biden has weaponized government against his leading political opponent to interfere in the 2024 election,” McCarthy wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Now a radical DA [district attorney] in Georgia is following Biden’s lead by attacking President Trump and using it to fundraise her political career.”
Jordan called the indictment the “Democrats’ latest witch hunt” against Trump, adding the former president “did nothing wrong
Read more here.
— Miranda Nazzaro
Trump claims to have ‘fraud’ report coming next week
In a Truth Social post Tuesday morning, former President Trump touted a forthcoming “Large, Complex, Detailed but Irrefutable REPORT on the Presidential Election Fraud which took place in Georgia.”
The 45th president said it would be presented in Bedminster, N.J., where he spends the summer, at a press conference at 11 a.m. Monday.
Trump said charges against him, handed by a Fulton County grand jury Monday night, “should be dropped” based on the report. “There will be a complete EXONERATION!”
Read more here.
— Sarah Fortinsky
Case assigned to Judge Scott McAfee
The Fulton County election interference case has been assigned to Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee.
According to the Fulton County Superior Court’s site, McAfee’s background includes stints as an inspector general in the Georgia Office of the State Inspector General, assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, senior assistant district attorney in Fulton County and assistant DA in Barrow County.
Read more about him here.
— Lauren Sforza
Giuliani calls indictment ‘affront to American democracy’
Rudy Giuliani, adviser to former President Trump and former New York City mayor, said overnight on X, the platform once known as Twitter, that the Georgia indictment against him and 18 others “is an affront to American Democracy and does permanent, irrevocable harm to our justice system.”
Giuliani faces 13 charges, including false statements and writing, racketeering, conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree and conspiracy to commit filing false documents.
“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,” Giuliani tweeted.
Trump: ‘Longest-running Witch Hunt’
In an interview late Monday night, former President Trump told Fox News Digital the legal action “is a continuation of the greatest and longest-running Witch Hunt in American history.”
Calling the indictment “politically inspired,” Trump said it “was tailored for placement right smack in the middle of my political campaign, where I am leading all Republicans” in polling ahead of the 2024 GOP primaries.
First GOP 2024 debate is 8 days away
Qualifying presidential candidates will gather in Milwaukee Aug. 23 for the first primary debate of the Republican presidential race, hosted by Fox News.
Former President Trump has not made public his decision on whether he’ll attend, but he hinted last week that he would make an announcement sometime this week.
Adding to Trump’s legal web
The indictment unsealed Monday adds to former President Trump’s New York criminal indictment and two federal indictments.
The cases have rolled out since March 30, when Trump was indicted in Manhattan.
We’re tracking his cases here.