Former President Donald Trump was charged this week in connection with his role in attempts to overthrow the 2020 election and the events leading up to the US Capitol attack. A grand jury indicted him on four counts, including conspiracy to defraud the nation.
The indictment was filed by Special Counsel Jack Smith in federal district court in Washington. It is the third indictment against Trump. The first was in new York in a case involving a hush money payment to an adult film star during his 2016 election campaign. Then, in June, it was him charged in Miami on federal charges of mishandling confidential documents at his Florida home.
Tuesday’s actions are not the former president’s last legal troubles. Orange security barricades were erected outside the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta last week. The far reported The security measure was a sign of an expected indictment as part of the investigation into Trump’s alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 Georgia election results.
“The work is complete,” said Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said local TV station 11Alive potential charges in the high-profile case. “We have been working for two and a half years. We’re ready to go.”
As possible charges loom, Georgia will soon be back in the national spotlight. And there are local reporters who have reported on these years of investigations at almost every stage. Two local journalists spoke to Poynter about how they prepared for an indictment and how they see their role as Georgia-based reporters as different than journalists working for national media.
“In some ways, that’s what I’ve been working toward for most of my reporting career, but in other ways, nobody expects it to happen,” he said Stephen Fowlera political reporter who has covered state elections for several years Georgia Public Broadcasting.
Fowler recalls first delving into voting in Georgia in 2018. “I’ve been studying how voting works and doesn’t work in Georgia long before there were rumors of attempts to challenge absentee ballots and undermine the credibility of the election.” “Ultimately, we’re pressuring officials to undermine the results.” , he said. Now he can argue that the Fulton County investigation and possible indictment is the biggest story he’s had to tell yet. “I think most people would say that,” he added.
For Tamar Hallermanna senior reporter for The Atlanta Journal ConstitutionHer primary role now is to cover the Fulton County investigation into whether Trump or his allies criminally interfered in the 2020 Georgia election. That was not always so. Initially hired as the newspaper’s Washington correspondent, Hallerman relocated to Atlanta in 2019 and shifted her focus to writing feature and corporate stories.
When then-new District Attorney Willis announced in 2021 that she would be investigating Trump’s actions, Hallerman was tasked with helping then-colleague Christian Boone do so a profile about Willis.
“That’s where it started,” she said. “I just found the research kind of interesting.”
As Hallerman began reporting on the development of the investigation, “it started to heat up,” she said. willis requested a special grand jury to help with their investigation. That’s when Hallerman realized that this would be “much bigger than just an occasional assignment.”
“There were so many twists and turns in this story. Every time I think I know what’s going to happen, everything changes,” Hallerman said. “There were some incredible moments, particularly in the courtroom. There were some really shocking things in the court records. There were all sorts of characters that went into the story, so to speak. … It was the ride of my life. It was non-stop. It was a challenge. It was so interesting. And there is never a shortage of things to write about.”
To cover the investigation, Hallerman drew on her background in reporting politics and the time she spent documenting Trump during his stay in Washington. Hallerman said she knows well the many state-level players who have served as witnesses and that it helps to have colleagues with different strengths. There is for example Bill Rankin, who has been the legal reporter for the AJC for decades. Hallerman has joined Rankin as co-host the ninth season of the newspaper’s “Breakdown” podcast. This season is all about the grand jury investigation into Trump.
“He understands the courts like no one else, and he brings such a deep knowledge of the law and the process, and he seems to know everyone in town — so many judges, pretty much every defense attorney,” Hallerman said of Rankin. “And every time I was overwhelmed, it was really great to be able to look at my colleague and discuss everything.”
Hallerman, who reports mostly from home, said she brews a giant vat of coffee from her boyfriend’s Bunn coffeemaker before each workday. “That usually keeps me going until about two o’clock,” she said. Hallerman and her boyfriend also share two dogs. So when she needs a break or feels overwhelmed, she takes her pit bull and boxer mix for a walk. She said it really helps clear your head.
When asked how she reports and writes for local and state audiences in a way that differs from national media, Hallerman said it’s good to know the locals on the ground. “When prosecutors might not be willing to talk about an issue — sometimes it’s in their best interest not to talk about something with the press — I know former prosecutors on the ground who might have retired a few years ago , but really can. “Give insight,” she said. “We know the defense attorneys who are well known locally but don’t have national names who may have worked with prosecutors or can provide context on previous cases in Georgia that can shed light on what is going on in this particular case .”
GPB’s Fowler said what’s important and relevant to him may be different to that of another journalist serving a national audience. “And that shouldn’t detract from the people and media that have this mission,” Fowler said. “But I’m able to go deeper, have more context and have greater relevance to what’s actually going on because this is my backyard.”
Fowler, who joined GPB in 2016, said it was a story he had lived with before the 2020 election. “Once the charges are brought and people are charged and there’s a trial or no trial, I’m still here,” he said. “I’m covering these stories while some of these other national media outlets have moved on to the next shiny thing.”
Earlier this year, Fowler and his wife celebrated the birth of their first child. As he spoke to Poynter this week, he was about to end parental leave.
“It was a bit of a challenge because I was trying to fully embrace the holiday and the birth of a newborn, but then there was the steady drumbeat in the background of the upcoming announcements,” Fowler said.
Part of his job is acting as a host Battleground: Ballot Box Podcast, in which Fowler covers the electoral laws, campaigning, and voting in Georgia. Georgia Public Broadcasting has been working on a special, limited run of its podcast, with episodes released ahead of expected decisions and reminding listeners of key players and important events as the investigation unfolds.
“The first episode comes out on Monday the 7th, so I should probably be there to make sure it’s officially released,” he said.
Fowler said he was largely offline while on vacation.
“But it really is the story of the century and all the developments were impossible to ignore.”
