Attorney Norman Eisen predicted Friday that former President Donald Trump is “heading for indictment” in Georgia after some of his allies there received so-called “target letters” from the Fulton County district attorney’s office.
Georgia District Attorney Fannie Willis began investigating Trump early last year after he pressured officials in the state to help overturn President Joe Biden’s election victory. That effort gained national attention after audio leaked of a conversation between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which the then-president urged the GOP representative to “find” enough votes to swing the election.
Yahoo News first reported Friday that David Shaffer, the chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, and state senators Bert Jones and Brandon Beach had received targeted letters from Willis warning they could face charges in connection with her investigation. Jeff Disantis, a spokesman for the district attorney, also told The Associated Press that Willis was considering subpoenaing Trump to testify before a special grand jury convened for the investigation.
Former President Donald Trump is “heading for impeachment” in Georgia, legal expert Norman Eisen predicted in an op-ed for The New York Times on Friday. Above, Trump speaks during a Save America rally on March 26 in Commerce, Georgia. Megan Varner/Getty Images
“I believe there’s a strong possibility that he’s headed for an indictment,” Eisen told The New York Times after news of the targeted letters broke on Friday. The legal expert previously served as special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during Trump’s first impeachment.
“There’s powerful evidence of violations of Georgia law in the form of a smokescreen tape of him claiming 11,780 votes when it’s abundantly clear from that tape that he knows those votes don’t exist,” Eisen, who now serves as Sgt. fellow in management research at Brookings, explained.
The legal expert shared a similar view on Twitter.
“No matter what other stories come out today, this one is the biggest,” Eisen wrote, tagging Yahoo News and the journalists who broke the story. “Not only the Willis DA is preparing to file criminal charges against these top GA GOP officials,” he tweeted. “She’s clearly gearing up to hit Trump, too.”
No matter what other stories come out today, this is the biggest one @Isikoff @dklaidman @YahooNews
It’s not just the Willis DA that is preparing to file criminal charges against these high-ranking GA GOP officials
She’s clearly gearing up to hit Trump too. https://t.co/dYkxuIsMn7
— Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) July 15, 2022
In another tweet, Eisen called the warnings to Trump allies in Georgia a “signal” that criminal charges “will eventually hit” the former president.
In light of today’s news of the pending criminal charges in Fulton County and the signal that they will eventually hit Trump, here’s an oldie but a goodie from @gtconway3d . https://t.co/gMMjf3A6UB
— Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) July 15, 2022
Legal experts have for months pointed to the Fulton County investigation as the most likely to lead to criminal charges against the former president. Observers close to the investigation say Trump appears to have violated some clear criminal laws in Georgia, including criminal solicitation to commit election fraud. District attorney court documents show racketeering and conspiracy charges are also possible, according to the Times.
Lawrence Tribe, professor emeritus of constitutional law at Harvard University, predicted in late May that the Willis investigation would lead to charges against the former president.
“It would not surprise me if Georgia became the first jurisdiction to indict a former president on felony charges. I doubt it will be the last. And I think the charges will stand,” the Tribe tweeted.
Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s press office for comment.
The former president continues to insist he did nothing wrong after the 2020 election, claiming it was “rigged” or “stolen” in Biden’s favor. Trump claims that any investigations into his actions to overturn the results of the presidential election are part of a “witch hunt” and clearly biased.
Despite his claims, no evidence has emerged to support his claims for the 2020 election. On the contrary, audits and recounts have consistently confirmed Trump’s loss, while a number of senior officials in his own administration have said the claims are baseless.
Former Attorney General William Barr, who was considered one of the most loyal members of Trump’s cabinet, has repeatedly said claims of widespread voter fraud are nonsense.
“I thought, boy, if he really believes these things, he’s out of touch with … he’s out of touch with reality, if he really believes these things,” Barr testified before a special House committee investigating the attack on the U.S. from January 6, 2021 Capitol.
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