Former President Trump may face felony charges unlike any of the 78 charges against him if he is indicted in Georgia, according to sources who spoke to CBS News. Fulton County District Attorney, Fani Willis, could possibly pursue Trump under Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), which is commonly used against organized crime but has broader applications. It is believed that Georgia's RICO statute is more expansive in scope than its federal counterpart.

The RICO statute in Georgia allows prosecutors to point to various organized or related attempts to engage in criminal activities, ranging from violent crimes to false statements and obstruction of justice. According to Morgan Cloud, a law professor at Emory University, the racketeering statute examines the bigger picture and looks at interrelated actions rather than just a single crime. To prove racketeering, prosecutors must convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that at least two racketeering activities are connected in terms of method, purpose, or victims. In Trump's case, Cloud believes that the most important connection would be the goal or purpose of overturning the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

In order to convict under RICO, prosecutors need to prove the existence of an enterprise, which can range from a corporation to an informal group of individuals, who engage in criminal actions as part of a shared goal. This means that if Trump is charged under RICO statutes, he may not be alone in facing potential racketeering charges. In 2022, Willis' office sent letters to multiple Trump allies, including Rudy Giuliani and "fake electors," warning them that they could face unspecified charges.

Cloud suggested that several key events after the 2020 election could be considered "actions taken as part of that scheme" under Georgia's RICO statute. He specifically pointed to three phone calls Trump made to Georgia officials urging them to find fraud, including a recorded call on January 2, 2021, between Trump and Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. During that call, Trump famously said, "I just want to find 11,780 votes," referring to the number of votes he would have needed to surpass President-elect Joe Biden in Georgia. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing and has described the conversation with Raffensperger as "an absolutely PERFECT phone call."

In addition to Trump's phone calls, Giuliani's unfounded claims of fraud and misconduct among state officials may also be considered as part of the alleged scheme under Georgia's RICO statute. The possibility of Trump facing RICO charges highlights the seriousness of the ongoing investigations into his actions during and after the 2020 presidential election.