Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating efforts to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results for more than two years. And some legal experts expect she'll bring the case under a law initially written to target the mob -- Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO.
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00:00 And Trump's indictment in Georgia might be based in the state's racketeer
00:04 influenced and corrupt Organizations Act, aka Rico. Scripps News
00:08 congressional correspondent Stephanie Lieber again explains. Attention is on
00:13 the Fulton County courthouse again this week as we await a possible fourth
00:17 indictment for former President Trump. But the potential charge in this case
00:22 could be different than the other three in more ways than one. Fulton County
00:26 District Attorney Fannie Willis has been investigating efforts to overturn
00:29 Georgia's 2020 election results for more than two years, and some legal
00:33 experts expect she'll bring the case under a law initially written to target
00:36 the mob racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations or Rico. A
00:40 racketeer is somebody who commits at least two different crimes that are
00:46 related in trying trying to achieve the same goal. Georgia's Rico law is
00:50 written more broadly than the federal version, meaning there's a large number
00:54 of crimes that can qualify for a racketeering charge. The ones that we
00:57 think will appear in the indictment. It's a crime to make a false statement
01:03 to a state official.
01:05 Um, it's a crime to create false documents and submit them to various
01:11 state agencies. Perjury could be a crime, terroristic threats. And we know
01:16 that the district attorney is looking at threats against election workers.
01:20 The former president is already facing two federal indictments and a case in
01:23 New York. But if he's indicted in Fulton County, it could be the most
01:27 problematic one he faces. If he's reelected, he has no power over what's
01:31 going on in Georgia. You can't tell the district attorney what to do. She is an
01:35 elected official. She's not answerable to anybody in state government. The
01:39 possibility of him being convicted and going to jail is far greater. I would
01:44 say if the former president is indicted in Fulton County, we can expect to see
01:49 an arraignment happen in the following day or two. Stephanie Lieberman,
01:52 Scripps News, Washington.