Donald Trump could be facing criminal charges including conspiracy to commit forgery.
The accusations against the 77-year-old former US president appeared on a document on the Fulton County Court website on Monday (14.08.23), but it was later taken down.
Other charges listed in the filing included violation of the state’s RICO act, and solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer.
The document was dated 14 August and labelled the case as “open”, but it is unclear why the charges were first detailed in a filing and then removed.
Trump may be jailed for a maximum of 55 years in prison if found guilty of the four criminal charges against him related to the 6 January Capitol riot and his alleged plot to stay in power
A spokesperson for the district attorney said on Monday it was “inaccurate” that charges had been filed.
They added: “Beyond that we cannot comment.”
District attorney Fani Willis has been investigating for more than two years whether Trump and his allies tried to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump narrowly lost to Joe Biden in Georgia and his lawyers, including former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, and made false claims of election fraud, with audio of a call by Trump to Georgia’s secretary of state emerging in January 2021 in which he suggested election officials could “find” the votes he needed to win.
The full charges listed in the document posted online on Monday were Violation of the Georgia Rico (Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations) Act as well as Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer.
Also listed was Conspiracy to Commit False Statements and Writings and Conspiracy to Commit Forgery in the First Degree.
It comes after a US judge warned Trump not to make inflammatory statements that could intimidate witnesses ahead of his trial on four known criminal charges of allegedly plotting to overturn the 2020 US election.
Trump was arraigned for a record third time on 1 August and has pled not guilty to the charges so far levelled against him.
Lawyers for Trump and federal prosecutors appeared in a federal courtroom on Friday (11.08.23) morning to discuss what restrictions could be imposed before his trial, where he was slapped with restrictions on what he could say before the proceedings.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan warned Trump’s team: “Even arguably ambiguous statements by the parties or their counsel – if they can be reasonably interpreted to intimidate witnesses or to prejudice potential jurors – can threaten the process.
“I caution you and your client to take special care in your public statements about this case. I will take whatever measures are necessary to safeguard the integrity of these proceedings.”
Trump has denied his involvement in the events of 6 January that saw his supporters storm the Capitol Building in Washington D.C., leaving five people dead and others injured.
