GEORGIA RICO
Fat Boy is charged with conspiracy to do the RICO under subsection c of Ga. Code § 16-14-4. That incorporates subsections (a) and (b). Here’s the whole thing:
Subsection (a) doesn’t seem to fit, and isn’t alleged, because Fat Boy and his co-conspirators were not seeking to acquire “any interest in or control of any enterprise, real property, or personal property of any nature, including money” in carrying out their electoral fraud. You could maybe see the Executive Branch as the relevant “enterprise,” but that’s not alleged.
Subsection (b) is what is expressly alleged in Count 1 (p. 13). So in short, the charge is that Fat Boy and his minions got together (a/k/a, associated themselves in fact) and engaged in a “pattern of racketeering activity” for kicks and giggles or whatever. “Pattern” just means two or more prohibited acts. But what is “racketeering activity”? It’s a laundry list of state crimes, plus incorporation by reference of some additional federal crimes.
Count 1 alleges a total of 161 predicate acts. The first 22 don’t allege any crimes at all, so toss them right out as “racketeering activity.” Act 23 alleges solicitation of violation of oath, which isn’t on the “racketeering activity” laundry list, so that’s not going anywhere. Act 24 is the first actual act of qualifying racketeering activity expressly alleged, which is Rudy knowingly making false statements to members of the state senate, but I’m skeptical it applies to the state senators because it’s a matter alleged to have been within the jurisdiction of the secretary of state and other law enforcement agencies, not the state senate. And besides, Rudy has a clear defense that he believed his bullshit. Same with the local dude alleged to have made his own false statements in Act 25. Similar analysis for the alleged oath solicitation and false statements alleged in Acts 56, 81, 102, 104, 105, 112, 113, 156-58, etc.
The next 29 acts don’t allege any violations of criminal law. Act 55 alleges Rudy and the local dude conspired to get the members of the state senate to violate their oaths. That’s protected First Amendment petitioning activity on its face, so it’s not going to fly. We’re all welcome to petition government figures to crush our enemies and award us their lands.
We don’t get to another alleged act of racketeering until Act 79, where the indictment alleges the fake electors were impersonating public officers. It is, at best, an open question whether the electors are “public officers” within the meaning of § 16-10-23. I think the better argument is that they’re private citizens appointed to fulfill a public purpose. They don’t bind the state on anything other than their personal presidential vote.
Act 80 is first degree forgery, which is forgery with intent to defraud “by authority of one who did not give such authority and utters or delivers such writing.” That might well work, but they’ll have a pretty good defense that they didn’t intend to defraud anyone because either (a) they’re just brain-addled dipshits who thought it was only for if Trump won in court, or (b) they weren’t trying to defraud Mike Pence, just giving him a pretext. Act 83 is similar.
Act 82 is for filing false documents, i.e., the fake electoral certificates, in violation of § 16-10-20.1(b)(1). The basis for the charge is that the fake electors mailed copies of their fake certificates to the Chief Judge of the Northern District of Georgia. There are at least two weaknesses with this one – mailing something to a judge isn’t the same thing as “filing” it, and it requires the dipshit defendants to have “knowingly” made the false filing. Same with Act 84.
Act 87 is some local dude allegedly attempting to influence a witness (Ruby Freeman) in an official proceeding by talking to her neighbor on December 14. I’m unaware of any official proceeding occurring around that time that would make Ms. Freeman a witness, and the indictment doesn’t allege what that might be. Same with Act 88, which is the same local talking to Ms. Freeman and offering her “help.”
The next alleged act of racketeering is Act 98, which is Jeffrey Clark’s draft letter to Georgia claiming electoral fraud. It’s alleged as an attempt to make false statements to the state government, which he is alleged to have attempted by asking permission to send it (and getting denied). Maybe that works, but it seems pretty thin.
Act 108 is interesting. It accuses Fat Boy and Eastman of filing false documents in the form of a delusional last-minute lawsuit claiming rampant voter fraud in federal court. That might qualify! But again, it’s at least arguably First Amendment petitioning activity, and Trump and Eastman have solid defenses that they’re delusional enough to have believed their bullshit to be true, or at least true enough to assert it in a lawsuit.
Acts 120-21 are interesting, in that they allege solicitation of false statements and attempting to influence a witness, i.e., Ruby Freeman. This is the incident with the Kanye West publicist and her goons at the police station a couple days before J6. Those are both plausible, although they might have difficulty tying it back to the rest of the enterprise.
Acts 144-49 allege criminal violations for the Coffee County election machine shenanigans, although the first two – interference with elections and unlawful possession of ballots – don’t appear on the RICO statute’s list of “racketeering” violations. The rest appear to be violations of the Georgia Computer Systems Protection Act, which are at least plausible on their face.
Acts 160-61 are good ones – perjury for one of the fake electors during a September 2022 deposition in a federal court case concerning the Coffee County shenanigans, plus perjury for a local Trump minion who lied to the special grand jury about his knowledge of the fake electors.
OVERALL: She’s got a plausible state RICO case, but a lot of it seems pretty tenuous and there’s lots of room for SCOGA to toss it on appeal if Trump or the other defendants get convicted.