Verdicts & sentences

Meadows, Lawyers Plead Not Guilty in Georgia Case

SEP 5 2023·Updated AUG 27

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The Facts

According to court documents, former president Donald Trump's White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former Trump US Dept. of Justice (DOJ) official Jeffrey Clark, Trump's personal attorney John Eastman, and 19 others have pleaded not guilty to racketeering charges in the Georgia election interference case.
NBC
Meadows, who is trying to have his case moved out of Georgia and into federal court by arguing his actions at the time fell under federal law, pled not guilty to two felonies — one for violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law and one for soliciting a public official to violate their oath.
Forbes
Clark is also facing two counts and trying to get his case moved to federal court. The former DOJ official had asked then-President Trump to name him acting Attorney General so that he could send a letter asking Georgia lawmakers to examine voting irregularities, but Trump decided not to because of institutional resistance.
CNN
Eastman is facing charges related to advice he gave Trump, including that the then-president could stay in power if then-Vice President Mike Pence refused to certify the Electoral College results during a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.
FOX News
Former Coffee County GOP Chair Cathy Latham and former Georgia GOP Chair David Shafer are facing 11 counts and eight counts, respectively. Latham allegedly plotted to illegally access voter data and ballot-counting equipment in Coffee County, with Shafer accused of participating in the alleged fake elector scheme.
CNN
The state judge overseeing the case, in which all 19 defendants are facing racketeering charges, said he would sort out trial dates after the arraignment process is finished. This is because the large number of defendants has led to scheduling issues.
NBC

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The Spin

Democratic narrative

While being a bad lawyer isn't a crime, breaking laws in an effort to help your client certainly is, and there is plenty of legal precedent to prove it. Defending Trump through legal means would be one thing, but helping a sitting president to line up fake electors — as it appears both Eastman and Giuliani did — is engaging in a criminal scheme not protected by attorney-client privilege. These defendants are guilty of the same things Trump did, which is why the justice system is doing its job and leaving no stone unturned.

ABC News

Pro-Trump narrative

Besides the obvious political nature of this case — a partisan Democrat District Attorney (DA) prosecuting a Republican presidential candidate — Fulton County DA Fanni Willis is wrongly charging these defendants as a "criminal organization." This is nonsense, as these individuals were never part of the same organization. If Willis couldn't find solid evidence of an overarching conspiracy — and her definition of an "organization" is slippery — it seems this case can't go very far if conducted in a fair and balanced manner.