Donald Trump indicted: Fulton County clerk’s office claims ‘fictitious’ document was a test
Jack Birle
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Officials in Fulton County, Georgia, say the apparent court document that appeared on the county clerk’s website on Monday, hours before a grand jury voted to indict former President Donald Trump and 18 others, was a test that was not supposed to go public.
The Fulton County clerk’s office claimed the “fictitious” document, which was uploaded ahead of the actual indictment that was handed down hours later, was “unofficial and a test sample only,” in a press release on Tuesday.
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“In anticipation of issues that arise with entering a potentially large indictment, Alexander used charges that pre-exist in Odyssey to test the system and conduct a trial run. Unfortunately, the sample working document led to the docketing of what appeared to be an indictment, but which was, in fact, only a fictitious docket sheet,” the clerk’s office said in a statement.
“Because the media has access to documents before they are published, and while it may have appeared that something official had occurred because the document bore a case number and filing date, it did not include a signed ‘true’ or ‘no’ bill nor an official stamp with Clerk Alexander’s name, thereby making the document unofficial and a test sample only,” the statement continued.
The clerk’s office also said it “understands the confusion” the incident caused.
“The Office understands the confusion that this matter caused and the sensitivity of all court filings. We remain committed to operating with an extreme level of efficiency, accuracy, and transparency,” the statement said.
Trump was indicted later on Monday on 13 counts, while others on the charging document included attorneys Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, and Sidney Powell, along with former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows. Nineteen people were indicted as part of the alleged racketeering scheme, but the charging document also mentioned roughly 30 unnamed co-conspirators.
Trump’s attorneys slammed the events of Monday, from the allegedly “fictitious” document to the indictment being handed down, as “shocking and absurd” in a statement early Tuesday morning.
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“The events that have unfolded today have been shocking and absurd, starting with the leak of a presumed and premature indictment before the witnesses had testified or the grand jurors had deliberated and ending with the District Attorney being unable to offer any explanation. In light of this major fumble, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office clearly decided to force through and rush this 98-page indictment,” the statement from Trump’s attorneys said.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, speaking in a late-night press conference on Monday, said Trump and his co-conspirators were working to “accomplish the illegal goal of allowing Donald J. Trump to seize the presidential term of office beginning on Jan. 20, 2021.”