The prosecution alleges that Trump led a "criminal racketeering enterprise", in which he and all other defendants "knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome" of the 2020 U.S. presidential election in Georgia.

[4] Another judge denied requests from former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows, former Department of Justice (DOJ) official Jeffrey Clark, and three other defendants to have their cases removed to federal court.

[8] Weeks before the 2016 presidential election, Trump claimed through a series of tweets that widespread voter fraud was imminent, a sentiment echoed by his legal advisor, Rudy Giuliani.

[21] In late December 2020 and early January 2021, Jeffrey Clark, the Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division and acting for the DOJ Civil Division, drafted a letter to Georgia officials stating the DOJ had "identified significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the election in multiple States", urging the Georgia legislature to convene a special session for the "purpose of considering issues pertaining to the appointment of Presidential Electors".

[35] State senator Shawn Still verified fake electors' identities as they entered the room, but the meeting was reportedly open to the public, and video was posted that day.

[39] In a recorded phone conversation, Atlanta Trump supporter Scott Hall recalled that the team "scanned every freaking ballot", including equipment and that they had "imaged all the hard drives" used on Election Day.

The texts were between Sidney Powell associate Jim Penrose, a former National Security Agency official, and Doug Logan, whose firm Cyber Ninjas later ran the 2021 Maricopa County presidential ballot audit.

Giuliani accused them of "passing around USB ports as if they were vials of heroin or cocaine" and engaging in "surreptitious illegal activity", citing video footage that, according to Moss, actually showed the women with "a ginger mint".

[46] The women and their family members were subjected to anti-Black racist smears and death threats and were warned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that they would not be safe in their home.

[53] For failing to turn over subpoenaed evidence in the case, the judge sanctioned him, ordered him to pay over $230,000 of Freeman and Moss's attorney's fees,[54][55][56][57] and entered a default judgment against him.

CNN, Just Security, The Washington Post and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution independently cross-referenced details in the indictment with already public information which does name the involved individuals, allowing many of them to be identified.

Notable unindicted co-conspirators include Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch, Trump and Giuliani associate Boris Epshteyn, former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, GOP political operative Phil Waldron, and current Lt.

[75][76][79][80] After the grand jury issued arrest warrants for all 19 defendants per normal procedure, Willis provided the co-defendants an opportunity to voluntarily surrender by noon on August 25.

[97] In a court hearing on August 25, he was denied bond, being deemed a flight risk due to a pending case against him in Maryland for misdemeanor assault on an FBI agent.

[97][99][100] Giuliani had his bond set at $150,000; Chesebro, Clark, Eastman, Ellis, Floyd, Meadows, and Powell at $100,000; Kutti, Latham, Lee, and Shafer at $75,000; Cheeley, Roman, and Smith at $50,000; and Hall, Hampton, and Still at $10,000.

)[123] Powell later promoted claims that Willis had "extorted" her into pleading guilty, despite having stated in a court filing that her plea had been made voluntarily, and continued to allege that the election was rigged.

[132][133] On October 10, Willis argued that Chesebro's five memos should not be protected by attorney-client privilege (as his attorneys had requested)[134] since they did not contain advice about litigation but rather a political strategy for interrupting the transfer of power to Biden.

[135] Floyd tagged Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and former Fulton County poll worker Ruby Freeman on social media and spoke on podcasts, apparently violating his bond agreement.

Though all charges would remain under Georgia state law, the consequences of removal would include widening the geographic range of the jury pool and prohibiting cameras in the courtroom.

The dismissed charges dealt with soliciting public officers, including Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and then-Georgia House Speaker David Ralson, to violate their oaths.

[200] According to The New York Times, Wade had little prior prosecutorial experience beyond being employed for about a year in the late 1990s by the Cobb County Solicitor's Office, which prosecutes misdemeanors and traffic citations.

[212][213] Willis committed a "tremendous lapse in judgment" and her "testimony during the evidentiary hearing" was "unprofessional", but "simply making bad choices – even repeatedly" does not establish an actual conflict of interest under Georgia law, stated McAfee.

[212][214] As there was not enough evidence that Willis "acquired a personal stake in the prosecution, or that her financial arrangements had any impact on the case", an actual conflict of interest was not proven, ruled McAfee.

The filing said that the schedule had been chosen so as not to conflict with Trump's already-scheduled court dates in other matters, "but also to protect the State of Georgia's and the public's interest in a prompt resolution of the charges".

Former U.S. Attorney for Georgia Michael J. Moore expressed doubt that the motions and discovery process would be completed so quickly, and that Willis actually believed the case would be ready by March.

[240] In early September, while discussing whether all defendants could be tried together on the expedited date given to Chesebro and Powell, prosecutors estimated that a 19-defendant proceeding would involve a lengthy jury selection followed by a four-month trial that called 150 witnesses.

[248] During Chesebro and Powell's trial preparation, prosecutors had filed to seek testimony from Boris Epshteyn, Lin Wood, several GOP officials in other states,[251] conspiracy theorist Alex Jones (whose attorney said he would plead the Fifth),[252] and RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.

[255][256] Willis wrote to Jordan on September 7 that his letter contained "inaccurate information and misleading statements", alleging he was seeking to "obstruct a Georgia criminal proceeding and to advance outrageous misrepresentations" without constitutional authority, for his personal political gain.

Such a move would require consent of Democrats, and Republican governor Brian Kemp said he opposed it to prevent "political theater that only inflames the emotions of the moment" and "some grifter scam" to raise campaign contributions for Moore.

[259][260] Hours after the commission became effective on October 1, eight Republican Georgia senators filed a complaint seeking to have Willis sanctioned for her alleged "improperly cherry-picked cases to further her personal political agenda".