In the previous season of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s award-winning podcast “Breakdown,” the AJC closely followed the special grand jury that investigated former president Donald Trump and his allies over what happened in Georgia after the 2020 election.
Now the tenth season of “Breakdown” — “The Trump Indictment” — follows the aftermath of the grand jury’s 97-page, 41-count racketeering indictment, and the charges that Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis’ office has brought against Trump and 18 co-defendants.
“Breakdown — The Trump Indictment” is hosted by legal affairs reporter Bill Rankin and senior reporter Tamar Hallerman, who covered the Trump White House when she was the newspaper’s Washington correspondent. They are joined this season by editor Shannon McCaffrey, who is leading the AJC’s team of reporters covering the Fulton County indictments.
You can download the Breakdown podcast from Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or your favorite podcasting platform. You can also stream it on your computer from ajc.com at the links below. (For previous coverage of the Fulton County special grand jury that investgated alleged election interference, listen to Season 9 of “Breakdown” here.)
EPISODE 1: How We Got Here: The tenth season of “Breakdown” begins by looking at the evidence accumulated against Donald Trump and his allies in the Georgia election interference investigation.
EPISODE 2: The Enterprise: We get our first look at the sweeping 41-count racketeering indictment returned by a Fulton grand jury and discuss who is charged.
EPISODE 3: The Chaos Arrives: The aftermath of the Fulton Grand Jury’s racketeering indictment against former President Donald Trump. The episode includes reactions from three of the special purpose grand jurors and it introduces listeners to the 34-year-old judge who was randomly assigned the racketeering case.
EPISODE 4: Show Time at Rice Street: Recounting a very busy week at the Fulton County Jail, where 19 defendants will surrender by the end of the week.
EPISODE 5: Trump Surrenders: The hectic moments before Donald Trump’s historic surrender at the Fulton County jail.
EPISODE 6: Meadows’ Gambit: Rcapping former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows’ attempt to transfer Fulton County’s sweeping racketeering case to U.S. District Court in Atlanta.
EPISODE 7: The ‘Architect’: Attorney Scott Grubman, who represents Kenneth Chesebro, explains in an exclusive interview why he believes charges should not have been brought against the man some call “the architect” for the slates of alternate electors.
EPISODE 8: Finally, the Report: Listeners finally get a close look at the long-awaited report from Fulton County’s special purpose grand jury. And why did so many of the names recommended to face criminal charges not end up in Fani Willis’ indictment?
EPISODE 9: Meadows is Denied: U.S. District Judge Steve Jones denies Mark Meadows’ bid to remove his case to federal court, with possible implications for Donald Trump.
EPISODE 10: To Remove or Not to Remove: Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark and three GOP electors attempt to remove their cases from Fulton County to federal court, but they face Judge Jones, who has already denied a similar bid by Mark Meadows.
EPISODE 11: Let’s Make a Deal: The Georgia election interference case has its first guilty plea. What does it mean for the remaining defendants, and are there other plea deals to come?
EPISODE 12: Lights, Camera, Action! Fulton County is the only jurisdiction that has indicted the former president on criminal charges where cameras are allowed in the courtroom. Does that guarantee a media circus? Two lawyers debate the question: Steve Brill, who founded Court TV; and Nick Ackerman, a former Watergate prosecutor wro argues that cameras in the courtroom could lead to juror and witness intimidation.
EPISODE 13: The Kraken’s Released: The surprise guilty plea of lawyer Sidney Powell, who infamously said she would “release the Kraken” when falsely promising she would produce widespread evidence of election fraud.
EPISODE 14: Copping a Plea: Four plea deals come in quick succession, including ones from Jenna Ellis and Kenneth Chesebro. How valuable will the defendants’ cooperation be, and are more deals to come?
EPISODE 15: Inside the Ellis Plea Deal: Frank Hogue, the lawyer who brokered a plea deal for Jenna Ellis, speaks exclusively with “Breakdown” hosts about how the deal came about.
EPISODE 16: The Fraud Hunters: AJC reporter Mark Niesse explains the GBI investigation of the data breach in Coffee County. Plus, Harrison Floyd’s lawyer requests mountainous state and Fulton voting information to prove that Trump won the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
EPISODE 17: The Proffers: We look at the leaked videotaped interviews with the four defendants who struck plea deals. The leak led to the Fulton DA’s office calling for a sealing of all documents turned over in discovery.
EPISODE 18: Breakdown Bonus: Thanksgiving Edition: Former Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter and Atlanta defense attorney Bob Rubin discuss whether we are likely to see more plea deals. Plus, could Harrison Floyd have his bond revoked and end up back behind bars?