It’s been a newsworthy 24 hours, with Donald J. Trump racking up yet another indictment – the fourth in his collection.
Released to the public late last night, it’s grounded in Georgia state law (meaning that if convicted Trump cannot pardon himself, or any co-defendants). And the charges allege that Trump was the head of a criminal enterprise.
A bit of a sidebar here, and back to my lawyer roots. The federal RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Practices Act) statute was enacted in the ’70s to enable prosecutors to climb the ladder of criminal enterprises to indict and convict the leader. (Fun fact: it was signed into law by Nixon.)
Rudy Guliani knows a lot about the federal RICO Act; he used it to indict the leaders of the Five Families in NYC in the 1980s.
So that’s the first thing that should shake everyone back awake: the former President of the United States has been indicted under the state version of a statute that’s used to convict mafia bosses.
But mafia bosses aren’t the only ones charged under RICO – it’s far more broad than that, and intentionally so. RICO simply requires a pattern of criminal acts (what are called “predicate acts”) committed in furtherance of a criminal enterprise. In the federal statute, crimes that qualify as predicate acts include mail and wire fraud.
So if you’ve ever seen the 1990s film The Firm with Tom Cruise (skip the rest of this paragraph if you haven’t and want to), you’ll recall that the law firm itself eventually finds itself in hot water. That’s because it has a practice of overbilling its clients – and sending those bills through the mail. That’s mail fraud – a crime on its own that happens to be one of RICO’s “predicate acts”. With evidence of a pattern and practice of mail fraud (easily met by the facts in The Firm) the lawyers and partners involved are exposed to liability under RICO.
Trump and his band of merry co-conspirators are charged under the Georgia state version of RICO, but it appears to be similar to the federal statute, and that’s not surprising, as the federal statute was the first, and became a model for states.
The Introduction says it plain:
“Trump and the other Defendants charged in this Indictment refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and willfully joined conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump. That conspiracy contained common plan and purpose to commit two or more acts of racketeering activity in Fulton County, Georgia, elsewhere in the State of Georgia, and in other states.”
Read the full indictment here (no paywall): https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2023/08/CRIMINAL-INDICTMENT-Trump-Fulton-County-GA.pdf
The predicate acts include false statements to and solicitations of state legislatures, high-ranking state officials, creation and distribution of false electoral college documents, harassment of Fulton County election workers, solicitation of Justice Department officials – and the Vice President of the United States. It goes on.
The indictment is in plain language and is easy to read (if long). But it lays out something that is both startling and unsurprising: that the acts we all witnessed in broad daylight – and have heard about in reporting and in the coverage of the January 6 Committee – constituted acts, in furtherance of a criminal enterprise, for which the former president and his associates should be held accountable.
That’s just … stunning.
That this is a RICO case will allow the prosecutors to lay out the depth and breadth of the enterprise – which makes for a nice complete story for the jury. It will also allow the American people to see that depth and breadth for themselves.
I urge you to page through the indictment. Like I said, it’s in plain language and if you go here it’s not under a paywall: https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2023/08/CRIMINAL-INDICTMENT-Trump-Fulton-County-GA.pdf
You’ll recognize a lot of the people, and a lot of the facts.
And that’s my broader point for today.
Because over the last week, a very long and somewhat opaque law review article was released. To be published in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, it’s a stunning piece both for its substance and for its authors. (Read it in its 126-page glory here.)
The substance? That based on the information that we already know – information in the public domain – per Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Donald Trump is disqualified from holding public office. Period.
The authors? Two Federalist Society members (yes, that Federalist Society) who are constitutional scholars, law professors, and proponents of “originalism.” You certainly know of some other powerful, well-known originalists: Supreme Court Justices Thomas, Alito, Kavanaugh, Barrett, and Gorsuch.
That article lays out very clearly that “Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment forbids holding office by former office holders who then participate in insurrection or rebellion” and painstakingly applies that standard to Donald Trump and other officials.
In other words, they call a spade, a spade.
Maybe that feels insignificant. I don’t think it is.
Both this newest indictment and this law review article are important not just for their substance but for their validation of what you have probably been thinking since January 6: what Trump and his associates did is a big deal.
As Timothy Snyder said so eloquently in his most recent substack, we can have a President Trump, or we can have the Constitution. We cannot have both.
I don’t know if Trump is going to be held accountable in a way that feels satisfying. I know you probably have as many reservations about that as I do. But I think this is a start.
And a good one. It’s time for Republicans to call a spade a spade.
Here’s hoping.
Let’s get to work.
Actions for the Week of August 15, 2023
Read the indictment
Yes, I really do think it’s worth your time to page through this document to see it for yourself. True, it’s a lengthy document from a page-count perspective, but trust me that it’s quick. Again, here’s a link to a version that is not behind a paywall: https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2023/08/CRIMINAL-INDICTMENT-Trump-Fulton-County-GA.pdf
Three Branches of the Armed Forces Have No Senate Confirmed Leader Because of One Senator
The Army, Navy, and Marines all now have acting (interim) leaders because Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville doesn’t like that members of the armed services are allowed up to three weeks of administrative leave for them or their dependents to travel for an abortion. Many states with the most restrictive anti-abortion laws have military bases – so ensuring that service members can get time off to obtain healthcare is critical Defense Department policy.
Tuberville has now blocked a whopping 270 confirmations. He’s a one-man assault on our military readiness, and we can and should ask our senators what they plan to do about it.
If your senator is a member of the Armed Services Committee, it’s time to give them a call and ask them what on earth they are doing to convince their colleague to step aside and allow these confirmations. It’s that simple of a script:
Script: Hi, my name is [name] and I’m calling from [zip]. I’m really concerned about the over 270 confirmations that are being held up by Senator Tuberville, and I want to know what Senator [insert name of your senator] is doing about it. This is obviously impacting our military readiness – and making us look weak in the eyes of the rest of the world!
Here are the members of the Armed Services Committee. Missouri folks, note that Senator Eric Schmitt is on the committee and deserves a call.
Majority:
Reed, Jack (RI), Chairman
Shaheen, Jeanne (NH)
Gillibrand, Kirsten E. (NY)
Blumenthal, Richard (CT)
Hirono, Mazie K. (HI)
Kaine, Tim (VA)
King, Angus S. (ME)
Warren, Elizabeth (MA)
Peters, Gary C. (MI)
Manchin, Joe (WV)
Duckworth, Tammy (IL)
Rosen, Jacky (NV)
Kelly, Mark (AZ)
Minority:
Wicker, Roger F. (MS), Ranking Member
Fischer, Deb (NE)
Cotton, Tom (AR)
Rounds, Mike (SD)
Ernst, Joni (IA)
Sullivan, Dan (AK)
Cramer, Kevin (ND)
Scott, Rick (FL)
Tuberville, Tommy (AL)
Mullin, Markwayne (OK)
Budd, Ted (NC)
Schmitt, Eric (MO)
Aid to Hawaii
You likely have seen the devastation caused by the wildfires in Hawaii – it’s heartbreaking to say the least. If you are moved to donate, consider the Maui Strong Fund, which beyond being an established entity has done an excellent job being transparent about where funds are already being allocated. You can see their list of grants and learn more about their work here: https://www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/strengthening/maui-strong-fund
President Obama has also suggested other organizations that are worth checking out. You can do so here: https://www.obama.org/discover/stories/take-action-hawaii-fires
MAGA In Your School? Check Out Indivisible’s Our States Our Fates Toolkit
Plenty of us face MAGA extremists in our local schools. So it’s great to see Indivisible focus on that with their Our States Our Fates tookit, which you can access here.
Topics include: What is MAGA Extremism in the context of education and why does it matter?, Effective Messaging, Action Tactics, and Media Support. I think this toolkit is great for giving you some ideas on how to push back against the MAGA wingnut narrative – which is really helpful.
WHEW! GO TEAM!
P.S.: Why don’t you make someone’s day and send this pep talk to a friend or two? I bet they need it.
If you’d like to sign up to get this pep talk and action list in your in-box each week, you can do that here. Welcome, friend!
P.P.S.: If you want to help support this work you can do so via Patreon at
https://www.patreon.com/smalldeedsdone or via paypal at https://www.paypal.me/smalldeeds
My deepest gratitude in advance.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for writing. I read and respond to every email! We’re in this together. Don’t you forget it.
Small Deeds Done 