Can tweeting be a crime? Willis explains what an 'overt act' means
Charging someone under a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization or RICO law, requires a prosecutor to show a group, or enterprise, committed a pattern of crimes.
Georgia's RICO law, like the federal law, lists specific crimes that can qualify under the law, known as "predicate" acts.
In the indictment, prosecutors listed 161 acts that they argue prove that a violation of the RICO Act occurred. Among the acts include things like allegedly accessing Dominion Voting machines and influencing witnesses.
But some of the acts listed are simply posts Trump made on Twitter, like a Jan. 6, 2021, tweet pressuring then-Vice President Mike Pence to not certify the electoral count in Congress.
Can a tweet be a crime?
Willis answered the question during her remarks — talking about how the indictment included "overt acts," or actions that wouldn't be a crime on their own but might prove a larger pattern.
"Many occurred in Georgia and some occurred in other jurisdictions and are included because the grand jury believes they were part of the illegal effort to overturn the result of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election," Willis said.
Trump fundraises off fourth indictment
In an email to supporters late Monday night, Trump encouraged his supporters to donate and show that they will "NEVER SURRENDER."
Trump's fundraising appeal claimed that "Deep State thugs" were attempting to "JAIL me for life."
Previous Trump indictments have led to similar fundraising emails for the Trump campaign. In the first week after Trump's initial indictment, in Manhattan, his campaign brought in $13.5 million in donations. The first seven days after the second indictment, in Florida, brought in $5.8 million.
However, the donations have been somewhat offset by the Trump's increasing legal bills.
'The Witch Hunt continues,' Trump says
Former President Donald Trump expressed outrage early Tuesday morning following his indictment in Georgia.
“So, the Witch Hunt continues!" Trump posted on his Truth Social account just before 1:30 a.m. ET.
"19 people Indicated tonight, including the former President of the United States, me, by an out of control and very corrupt District Attorney who campaigned and raised money on, 'I will get Trump'," Trump said, misspelling the word "indicted."
"Why didn’t they Indict 2.5 years ago? Because they wanted to do it right in the middle of my political campaign. Witch Hunt!" he said in the post.
Trump's Georgia attorneys call indictment 'shocking' and 'absurd'
Trump's attorneys in Georgia blasted the indictment and the witnesses who testified before the Fulton County grand jury.
"The events that have unfolded today have been shocking and absurd," attorneys Drew Findling, Jennifer Little and Marissa Goldberg said in a statement where they also argued that the witnesses who testified before the grand jury were biased.
"This one-sided grand jury presentation relied on witnesses who harbor their own personal and political interests — some of whom ran campaigns touting their efforts against the accused and/or profited from book deals and employment opportunities as a result," the attorneys said.
"We look forward to a detailed review of this indictment which is undoubtedly just as flawed and unconstitutional as this entire process has been.”
Hutchinson and Ramaswamy respond to new Trump indictment
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy were the only GOP presidential candidates besides Trump to weigh in on the former president's latest indictment.
"Regardless of the specifics of the Georgia indictment, I expect voters will make the ultimate decision on the future of our democracy," Hutchinson said in a statement, adding that Trump’s actions had “disqualified him from ever serving as President again.”
Hutchinson, a former federal prosecutor, said he would make additional remarks once he has reviewed the indictment in full.
Meanwhile, Ramaswamy reacted to the indictment on News Nation just moments after the news broke.
"The reality is these are politicized persecutions through prosecution," he said.
Ramaswamy noted he had not yet read the document, but added that people should consider this indictment in the context of the preceding three and see that America is becoming a "banana republic."
Giuliani: 'Real criminals' are people who brought this indictment
Giuliani responded to his indictment in a statement shared by an adviser, calling it "an affront to American Democracy" that "does permanent, irrevocable harm to our justice system."
The former New York City mayor and Trump lawyer called it "just the next chapter in a book of lies with the purpose of framing President Donald Trump and anyone willing to take on the ruling regime."
"The real criminals here are the people who have brought this case forward both directly and indirectly," he said.
Trump and Meadows charged in relation to 'find 11,780 votes' phone call
Count 28 of the 41-count indictment charges Trump and his former chief of staff Mark Meadows in relation to the former president's infamous phone call imploring GOP Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have" in Georgia.
The indictment charges both Trump and Meadows with solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer for the Jan. 2, 2021, call. The indictment alleges both men "unlawfully solicited, requested, and importuned" Raffensperger "to engage in conduct constituting the felony offense of Violation of Oath by Public Officer ... by unlawfully altering, unlawfully adjusting, and otherwise unlawfully influencing the certified returns for presidential electors for the November 3, 2020, presidential election in Georgia."
In addition, Trump is charged with Count 29, "false statements and writings for several falsehoods about voter fraud in Georgia in his communications with Raffensperger, Georgia Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs and Georgia Secretary of State General Counsel Ryan Germany on Jan. 2, 2021."
Kenneth Chesebro's lawyer says he has not been contacted by Willis
Scott Grubman, an attorney for defendant Kenneth Chesebro, told NBC News tonight that he had not been contacted by Willis' office.
Grubman said his team was reviewing the indictment and was likely to issue a statement tomorrow morning.
Chesebro, who was named in today's indictment, is believed to be one of the unindicted co-conspirators in the case against Trump in Washington, D.C., brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
Dems see an even justice system; McCarthy calls it 'weaponized'
Shortly after Trump was indicted for a fourth time, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., wrote in a joint statement that the latest indictment "portrays a repeated pattern of criminal activity" for Trump.
"The actions taken by the Fulton County District Attorney, along with other state and federal prosecutors, reaffirms the shared belief that in America no one, not even the president, is above the law," they wrote.
They urged Trump's supporters and critics not to interfere in the legal process set to unfold in the coming months.
That was in stark contrast to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who posted a statement on Elon Musk's X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Justice should be blind, but Biden has weaponized government against his leading political opponent to interfere in the 2024 election," McCarthy wrote.
He also criticized Willis for merely "following Biden's lead" in attacking Trump, which is consistent with his statements in response to the previous indictments.