How the Georgia pardon process works in light of Trump’s latest indictment

With former President Donald Trump indicted on legal fees for the fourth time, the pardoning process in Georgia has come into focal point.

Trump and 18 people have been charged overdue Monday in a sweeping indictment beneath Georgia’s racketeering, or RICO, regulation for alleged efforts to overturn the effects of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

The indictment, which follows a yearslong probe by way of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, alleges that Trump, who faces 13 fees, made 13 false statements in his effort to overturn the election effects.

Because RICO is a state fee, it can’t be pardoned by way of any president.

ABC News felony contributor Dan Abrams known as the Fulton County indictment “more dangerous” for Trump in comparison to the federal fees he is going through.

“It’s effectively pardon-proof, in the sense that with a federal case, if he wins the election, he can kind of make it go away,” Abrams said on “Good Morning America” on Tuesday. “This case, he can’t do that.”

Georgia’s RICO fee carries a compulsory minimal sentence of 5 years in jail if convicted.

In Georgia, a pardon is an “order of official forgiveness” best granted to those that have finished their sentence, in line with the State Board of Pardons and Paroles’ website.

A pardon “does not expunge, remove or erase the crime from your record,” the web page states. “It may serve as a means for a petitioner to advance in employment or education.”

A pardon may even repair civil and political rights.

In Georgia, pardon energy does now not relaxation with the governor (aka Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican) however with the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, a board inside the state’s govt department.

The State Board of Pardons and Paroles is made up of 5 contributors who’re appointed by way of the governor after which showed by way of the state Senate for a seven-year time period.

“Once confirmed, members would be insulated from political pressures by the fact that no one official could remove them from office until they completed their terms,” the State Board of Pardons and Paroles’ web page states.

To qualify for a pardon in Georgia, in line with the State Board of Pardons and Paroles’ website, you should have finished your sentence no less than 5 years prior to making use of. You should now not have dedicated any crimes in the ones 5 years or have any pending fees, amongst different {qualifications}.

After the Fulton County grand jury indicted Trump, the former president introduced he’s going to hang a press briefing on Monday to give a “Large, Complex, Detailed but Irrefutable REPORT” on alleged election fraud that happened in Georgia.

In reaction, Kemp refuted Trump’s claims of election fraud.

“The 2020 election in Georgia was not stolen,” he said on social media. “For nearly three years now, anyone with evidence of fraud has failed to come forward — under oath — and prove anything in a court of law. Our elections in Georgia are secure, accessible, and fair and will continue to be as long as I am governor.”

ABC News’ Olivia Rubin and Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this record.