The Cases Fani Willis Should Have Brought

This is the second column in a two-part series. In the first, I argued that Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis’s RICO indictment of former president Donald Trump and 18 others is wrongheaded. In this column, I’ll outline the three or more simpler indictments she might properly have brought, while assessing what is right and wrong about the charges as they currently stand.

I’ll begin with the cases as Willis should have divided them, while addressing as we come to them the charges that should be thrown out. To be clear, by describing a case or charge as viable, I am not prejudging Trump or any other defendant as guilty; the defendants are presumed innocent, and I happen to believe there are strong defenses to be made against many of the allegations (although the fact that a defendant may have a good chance of beating a charge does not render that charge legally invalid, either). By contrast, some of Willis’s charges are, like the RICO allegation, legally meritless. And one charge — the attempted-false-statements charge against former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark — is downright ridiculous.

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.

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This is the second column in a two-part series. In the first, I argued that Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis’s RICO indictment of former president Donald Trump and 18 others is wrongheaded. In this column, I’ll outline the three or more simpler indictments she might properly have brought, while assessing what is right and wrong about the charges as they currently stand.

I’ll begin with the cases as Willis should have divided them, while addressing as we come to them the charges that should be thrown out. To be clear, by describing a case or charge as viable, I am not prejudging Trump or any other defendant as guilty; the defendants are presumed innocent, and I happen to believe there are strong defenses to be made against many of the allegations (although the fact that a defendant may have a good chance of beating a charge does not render that charge legally invalid, either). By contrast, some of Willis’s charges are, like the RICO allegation, legally meritless. And one charge — the attempted-false-statements charge against former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark — is downright ridiculous.

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.