RICO Act used in Georgia Trump case is familiar to Chicagoans, from mob prosecutions to Blagojevich case
CHICAGO (CBS) -- In Georgia on late Monday, a grand jury indicted former President Donald Trump and 18 others on 41 counts, including 13 against Trump, of election fraud, racketeering, and other charges related to alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Legal analysts Tuesday explained Chicagoans are familiar with the approach prosecutors in Georgia are taking in the case – using the RICO Act.
As CBS 2's Chris Tye reported, the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act was passed by Congress in 1970 – and was initially used to take down mob families. The aim was to get the street-level guys to rat on the bosses issuing the orders.
Over time, that method has proven successful. But the Georgia case is the first time the RICO Act -- in this case under Georgia state law rather than federal law -- is being used in the prosecution of a former U.S. president.
One day after the former president and 18 others were charged in Georgia, Mr. Trump said prosecutors are weaponizing the justice system.
"Justice and the rule of law are officially dead in America," Mr. Trump said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, CBS 2 Legal Analyst Irv Miller says the use of the RICO charges jumps out at him in particular.
"This one against Trump is a very, very complicated case – simply because the number of defendants and the number of charges," Miller said.
In Chicago, we're used to RICO cases focused on mob families and gang outfits.
"It started with a narrow net - dealing with mobsters - and as time went on, it talked about murderers and gangsters and drug cases," Miller said. "It's expanded in ways it was never, ever intended to expand, but it works."
The federal case against former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was a RICO case, as is the ongoing case against former Illinois Speaker of the House Mike Madigan.
In Illinois, RICO cases are almost always federal cases. But again, the Georgia case against Mr. Trump and his codefendants is a state case.
In all RICO cases, the effort is to get foot soldiers to flip on those at the top.
"You always wanted to get the guy at the top of the ladder on a mob case, and they used the lower guys to build up cases till you get to the higher guy, to get the higher guy out of business," Miller said.
As for the effort to try all 19 defendants together, Miller says that is unlikely. He expects that number to shrink as the newly charged defendants race to court, and do what RICO is intended to do - get them to flip.
"What I think is going to happen in the very near future – days - is a race to the courthouse," Miller said. "Typically, defendants are running into the courthouse: 'I'll testify, I'll testify! Make me a deal!'"
If other defendants such as Mark Meadows and Rudy Giuliani do flip, we won't hear about it immediately.
Georgia State law makes using RICO in state court much easier to secure a conviction, which is why elsewhere, RICO cases are almost always federal cases. There is, however, a state RICO law in Illinois.
