On Monday, a document purporting to represent charges that had been brought against former President Donald Trump was momentarily published online by a court in the state of Georgia.
People obtained photographs of the document before it was taken down, and those screenshots supposedly indicated 13 charges against Trump, including felony conspiracy counts and a breach of the state's RICO Act, as The Western Journal reported.
The website of the court in Fulton County, Georgia, which has been investigating Trump since 2021 for suspected offenses linked to challenging the results of the state's 2020 election, did not provide an explanation for the document or its deletion.
The paper had the date August 14 on it, the name of Rachelle Carnesale as the Fulton County Judge, and its status was stated as "open." Following Reuters' request for comment, the court informed Reuters that Trump had not been charged with any crime.
In the one-page document, the defendant, identified only as Donald John Trump, is accused of committing a number of alleged felonies as well as one "serious felony."
On the paper, one of the charges is titled "Violation of the Georgia RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act," while another is titled "Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer." Both of these charges pertain to the same alleged offense.
The paper contains a list of charges of conspiracy, one of which is conspiracy to commit "impersonating a public officer." Other charges included in the document include "forgery," "making false statements," and "filing false documents."
Georgia court website briefly published, then removed a document about potential Trump charges.
Here is the document. pic.twitter.com/s3SMTaS0AA
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) August 14, 2023
The dates of the alleged transgressions that were put down in the paper that was erased extend from November 2020 all the way through September 2021.
Of course, Trump was actually indicted on exactly those charges just hours after the document was mistakenly published.
Late Monday, he and 18 of his associates were indicted on 41 counts related to election activities in Georgia.
DA Fani Willis really threw the book at Trump this time, charging him with 13 counts including racketeering and conspiracy and alleging that he tried to overturn the election in the state.
Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna Ellis and Ray Smith are some of the others charged along with Trump.
So far his year, Trump has been charged with a crime on three other occasions. Indictments against him have been filed at the state and federal levels, as well as by the New York City grand jury.
