Fani Willis, a district attorney in Georgia, initiated an inquiry into Donald Trump following the release of a recorded conversation in January 2021 between Trump and Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
In the call, Trump suggested that Raffensperger could assist in “finding” the votes needed to overturn his narrow loss to Joe Biden.
Over two years later, a grand jury indictment unveiled on Monday went beyond the call, alleging a network of offenses involving Trump and associates.
Willis utilized Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law to accuse Trump and his allies of participating in an expansive plot to overturn the state’s 2020 election outcomes.
However, RICO’s application extends beyond organized crime.
In the wake of the federal law’s establishment, states introduced their own RICO regulations.
The US Supreme Court remarked in a 1989 ruling that the statute was “sufficiently broad to encompass a wide range of criminal conduct, taking various forms and involving a diverse array of perpetrators.”
Broadly, RICO laws enable prosecutors to charge multiple individuals for separate crimes while pursuing a common objective.
Georgia’s RICO Act, enacted in 1980, criminalizes participating in, obtaining, or controlling an “enterprise” via a “pattern of racketeering activity,” or conspiring to do so.
Crucially, an alleged scheme need not succeed for a RICO charge to apply.
An “enterprise” could be a single individual or a group with shared goals.
“Racketeering activity” encompasses committing, attempting, soliciting, coercing, or inducing others to commit over three dozen crimes outlined in the law.
For a “pattern of racketeering activity,” at least two such acts are required, demonstrating that a person engaged in multiple related criminal actions as part of their enterprise involvement, meeting the RICO conviction criteria.
The federal RICO statute mandates continuity – a sequence of linked acts over an extended period – but Georgia’s Supreme Court asserts no such condition in state law.
Why opt for the RICO statute?
“I’m a fan of RICO,” Willis noted in August 2022 when announcing a RICO indictment against alleged gang members.
She contends that jurors seek a comprehensive account of an alleged crime, and RICO indictments enable prosecutors to offer a complete overview of all suspected unlawful conduct.
A narrative introduction allows prosecutors to present a comprehensive narrative that includes significant details potentially unrelated to specific crimes but pertinent to the broader alleged scheme.
RICO charges also bring hefty potential sentences, augmenting penalties for underlying acts.
In Georgia, a felony RICO conviction results in a prison term of five to 20 years, a fine of $25,000 or triple the illicit gains, or both.
J Tom Morgan, who employed Georgia’s RICO statute to prosecute a corrupt sheriff, explained that one challenge is clarifying RICO’s concept and operation to a jury.
Although commonplace crime terminologies like murder, rape, and theft are familiar, RICO is not part of everyday vocabulary, he added.
During her tenure as an assistant district attorney, Willis played a lead role in a RICO case involving Atlanta educators in a cheating scandal.
Since becoming district attorney, she has issued multiple RICO indictments against alleged gang members, including prominent rap artists.
John Floyd, an Atlanta-based RICO expert, assisted Willis in the school cheating case and was appointed as a special assistant district attorney to aid in any potential racketeering cases related to the 2020 election inquiry.