US: Georgia Grand Jury Returns Indictments In Trump Probe

A grand jury in Georgia on Monday handed down 10 indictments after a hearing at which prosecutors presented evidence from their investigation of Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election in the state, according to US media reports.

It is not immediately clear who was indicted. It is expected they would be made public later. A eventual indictment against Trump would be the fourth brought against the Republican politician this year. It could also lead to the first televised trial of a former president.

Trump has been criminally indicted three times so far this year, including once by US Special Counsel Jack Smith on charges of trying to overturn his election defeat.

What happened in Georgia?

The case stems from a January 2, 2021 phone call in which Trump urged Georgia's top election official, Brad Raffensperger, to "find" enough votes to reverse his narrow loss in the state. Raffensperger declined to do so.

President Joe Biden defeated Trump in Georgia by fewer than 12,000 votes during the 2020 election.

Four days later, on January 6, 2021, and two weeks before Trump was due to leave office, his supporters stormed the US Capitol in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent lawmakers from certifying Biden's victory.

Trump is the front-runner in the race for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election. He has long dismissed the many investigations he has faced in his years in politics as a politically motivated "witch hunt."

Source: DW