the east. first, donald trump criminally indicted in georgia, facing 13 counts. also, 18 alleged co-conspirators charged. rudy giuliani among them, for allegedly trying to flip joe biden's victory in that state. tonight, because this is now at the state level, what this means when it comes to pardons. why this case is so different. our chief investigative reporter aaron katersky standing by tonight. also, breaking news coming in from north korea. what they're now saying about that u.s. soldier that crossed the dmz into north korea. martha raddatz standing by with what she's learned. the haunting images from maui. the grim search for victims. and tonight, the utility now pressed on why the power wasn't cut, with red flag warnings and those high winds. their explanation, and you'll hear it. whit johnson again tonight. the severe storms at this hour set to hit the east coast from the carolinas up through washington, philadelphia, the northeast. damaging winds up to 75 miles per hour, and ginger zee is here. he's one of the highest ranking fbi agents to ever face criminal charges. once the head of counterintelligence in new york. what he pleaded not guilty to doing today to help the russians. pierre thomas reporting. tonight, the prominent judge now charged with murdering his wife. allegedly texting his court clerk and bailiff, telling them, i just lost it, i just shot my wife, i won't be in tomorrow. the blind side. tonight, the husband and wife now respond. accused of never adopting that football star at the center of the movie. what that former nfl star is accusing them of, and tonight, we now learn their response. the american tourist found drunk and sleeping in the eiffel tower. french authorities now weighing in. the tragic accident involving a former nfl star. and later tonight, america strong. we told you the race to save the pets on maui, and you have to see what's now happened tonight. good evening, as we come on the air in the west tonight, it is great to have you with us on a very busy tuesday evening. we do have breaking news coming in right now from north korea, a short time ago. what they're now saying about that u.s. soldier who crossed the dmz into north korea. but we do begin tonight with former president trump, now given ten days to show up in georgia, after this sweeping new indictment we learned about as we were on the air just before midnight last night. a grand jury in fulton county, georgia, indicting trump, accusing him of leading a, quote, criminal enterprise, to overturn joe biden's victory in that state. 18 alleged co-conspirators also charged, including rudy giuliani, and mark meadows, trump's former chief of staff. prosecutors claim the conspiracy began on election night. trump declaring he won, even though he lost by more than 7 million votes, and lost the electoral college by losing several key battleground states. part of the indictment, that famous phone call to georgia's republican secretary of state, saying, "look, i just need you to find 11,780 votes." former white house chief of staff mark meadows, who allegedly set up that call, as i said, among the indicted. rudy giuliani also charged with racketeering, a legal approach he often used as a prosecutor himself, going after the mob in new york. and when asked if she plans to prosecute them all at once, fulton county d.a. fani willis said yes. abc's senior investigative reporter aaron katersky leading us off tonight from atlanta. >> reporter: tonight, the clock is ticking for donald trump, given ten days to surrender in georgia. the former president charged with leading a "criminal organization," attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. 18 of his lawyers, aides, and associates charged alongside him. >> i am giving the defendants the opportunity to voluntarily surrender no later than noon on friday, the 25th day of august, 2023. >> reporter: fulton county district attorney fani willis charging trump's alleged "conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election," began on election night, declaring he had won, even though he trailed by millions of votes, and was losing significantly in the electoral college. >> we were getting ready to win this election. frankly, we did win this election. we did win this election. >> reporter: the sprawling racketeering indictment unspooling a relentless nine-week pressure campaign, including 11 phone calls from trump himself to republican officials. including this one to georgia secretary of state brad raffensperger. >> so look, all i want to do is this. i just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state. >> reporter: the man who allegedly set up that call, then white house chief of staff mark meadows, facing charges, too. >> mr. president, everybody is on the line. this is mark meadows, the chief of staff. >> reporter: today, raffensperger reacting to the indictment, saying, "the most basic principles of a strong democracy are accountability and respect for the constitution and rule of law. you either have it, or you don't." the pressure campaign, just one part of the alleged conspiracy. prosecutors say it included a plot to recruit bogus electors, going so far as to send false votes to washington. other defendants charged with breaching voting equipment and stealing data, including ballot images, voting equipment software, and personal voter information. trump's former lawyer rudy giuliani, who as a young prosecutor pioneered using racketeering laws to bust the mob in new york, now charged with being part of a criminal enterprise himself. the indictment pointing to his vicious personal attacks on two poll workers, ruby freeman and shaye moss, falsely claiming they were stealing ballots. >> quite obviously passing around usb ports as if they are vials of heroin or cocaine. >> reporter: today, giuliani defending himself. >> i'm indicted for being his lawyer. i never thought i'd be indicted for being a lawyer. >> reporter: district attorney willis says she wants to try this case in six months. and it could all play out in front of cameras. she was asked if she wants to try all 19 defendants at the same time. >> do i intend to try the 19 defendants in this indictment together? yes. >> david: let's bring in aaron katersky, live from atlanta tonight. aaron, when do we expect to see donald trump and the alleged co-conspirators in court? >> reporter: they've been given the deadline of noon next friday, david. trump hasn't said when he's going to show up, but when he does, it's going to be because of his own words. the indictment mentioning the 11 phone calls, trying to strong-arm republican officials. but tonight, david, the republican governor of this state emphatic, brian kemp saying the 2020 election in georgia was not stolen. >> david: saying the results were, in fact, accurate. aaron, one more quick followup before we move on here. former white house chief of staff mark meadows, late-breaking headline here, has already filed a motion tonight to try to move the case to federal court, but if they stay the course here, if this is prosecuted in georgia, we know this is a very different scenario when it comes to pardons, after any potential convictions. >> reporter: oh, sure is, david. presidential pardon would not apply to state charges, even a governor here cannot do it. in this state, it's a board of pardons and parole, and even then, a convicted felon would need to serve at least five years of a sentence before even applying. david? >> david: aaron katersky, thank you. we are also following breaking news coming in right now from north korea. what they're now saying about that u.s. soldier who crossed the dmz into north korea on his own. let's get right to abc's chief global affairs correspondent martha raddatz. martha, what have you learned tonight? >> reporter: david, this is the first public statement from north korea since travis king bolted across the border on purpose in front of a crowd of tourists less than a month ago. the north koreans now saying he has expressed his willingness to seek refuge in north korea or a third country, after experiencing what they say is inhumane treatment and racial discrimination in the army. his family had told us something similar just a few weeks ago, saying he was struggling during his deployment with racism. remember, travis king also spent 47 days in jail after a fight and was facing discharge from the army. and tonight, the pentagon saying they are still trying to facilitate his safe return. david? >> david: martha raddatz with the breaking headline from washington. martha, thank you. in maui tonight, the desperate search for the missing, and the growing need there for humanitarian help. more than 2,200 properties have been destroyed. the vast majority of them are homes. only about a third have now been searched. mobile morgue trucks have arrived, as the death toll continues to rise. president biden calling the governor from air force one, promising federal aid, and a visit soon. tonight, a utility there pressed on why the power was not cut off with the red flag warnings and the winds. their explanation, and you'll hear it. abc's whit johnson from maui again tonight. >> reporter: tonight, the painstaking search for victims, with hundreds of people in lahaina still unaccounted for. maui's police chief emotional, describing the grim search for the missing. >> it's not just ash on your clothing when you take it off. it's our loved ones. >> reporter: officials today identifying four of the 99 people killed, saying more than 30% of the burn area has been searched. >> only three of the bodies that we recovered had enough fingerprint to share who they were. >> reporter: families devastated. >> there are children. one car, for example, had a family of four. we can tell when it's a child, because it's a smaller body. >> reporter: among the missing, 79-year-old maurice buen, known as "uncle shadow" to his friends. >> it's -- it's very painful. >> reporter: his nephew uluwehi guerrero and brother ernest buen giving dna samples to assist authorities. >> the fire came so fast -- i don't know -- you know -- if he got away. >> reporter: the family says maurice was giving updates to his daughter in california until suddenly, communication stopped. >> you're hoping that he's somewhere safe, and yet also, too, in the back of your mind, you probably need to be prepared for the worst. >> reporter: today, president biden promising aid and a visit. >> not just our prayers, every asset -- every asset they need will be there for them. >> reporter: the utility company amid questions about why they left the power on despite the wind warnings, explaining it was needed to keep the water system working. that ultimately failed, anyway. fire hydrants running dry after the power went out. >> in lahaina, the electricity powers the pumps that provide the water. and, so, that was also a critical need during that time. there are choices that need to be made, and all of those factors play into it. >> reporter: and david, fema now has more than 400 people on the ground here in maui, but thousands of evacuees are still in desperate need of housing and resources. david? >> david: and of course we'll stay on it here. whit johnson, our thanks to you again this evening. thank you, whit. tonight, severe storms are set to hit much of the east coast at this hour, with damaging winds, potentially. let's get right to abc's chief meteorologist ginger zee tracking it again this evening for us. hi, ginger. >> reporter: hi, david. we've seen an 87-mile-per-hour gust already at columbia, south carolina. there are watches up that just got extended in eastern north carolina until 1:00 a.m. they go all the way up to central new jersey. so, watch for some of those damaging winds in excess of 70 miles per hour. now, let's talk about the heat, because we've had a lot of it. new orleans had five days in a row, consecutive 100-plus, which breaks their old record, which they already broke this year, we know these records keep falling. pacific northwest, portland, oregon, had 108 yesterday. that's their warmest all-time august 10th on record. and denver, they did have a tie of a record low yesterday, but they'll be back into the 90s by the weekend. david? >> david: ginger zee with us tonight. ginger, thank you. we turn next here this evening to one of the highest-ranking fbi agents ever to face criminal charges. the head of counterintelligence once here in new york. a top investigator of russian oligarchs pleading guilty tonight to helping russians. abc's chief justus correspondent pierre thomas back with us here in new york tonight. and this is really something, pierre. >> reporter: david, this involves the man who held the top job as the head of fbi counterintelligence in new york. an expert on russian spying turned bad. charles mcgonigal today pleaded guilty and admitted that he had been compromised by a russian oligarch after he retired from the fbi. that oligarch, who had been sanctioned by the u.s., paid him more than $200,000 to do his bidding, including to investigate one of his russian competitors. the fbi said today that he betrayed his old and, quote, turned his back on his duty to the american people in favor of greed. to other news, and to the prominent california judge pleading not guilty to murdering his wife. prosecutors say he shot her after a drunken argument, but then texted his staff, telling them, "i just lost it, i just shot my wife. i won't be in tomorrow." the case making national headlines now. and here's abc's kayna whitworth. >> reporter: tonight, a southern california judge accused of murdering his own wife pleading not guilty in court. >> mr. ferguson, do you understand all these additional nonmonetary conditions as to your bail? >> yes, i do, your honor. >> reporter: 72-year-old jeffery ferguson was arrested earlier this month after police say he shot his wife sheryl in their home. according to the orange county district attorney's office, the judge then texted his own court clerk and bailiff, saying, "i just lost it. i just shot my wife. i won't be in tomorrow. i will be in custody. i'm so sorry." sheryl, seen here in this photo posted to facebook, wishing her husband of nearly 30 years a happy birthday. >> she was soft spoken, very nice. and i know, just, her son was her pride and joy. >> reporter: court documents allege the judge shot his wife "at close range while intoxicated," after an argument earlier in the evening. their son calling 911, trying to stabilize his mother. police say they found 47 weapons, all legally owned, including rifles, shotguns, handguns, and over 26,000 rounds of ammunition in ferguson's home. and david, ferguson remains out on a million dollars bail. he had to surrender his passport and wear a gps monitor. he's also barred from buying or consuming alcohol. and david, his lawyers claim the shooting was an accident. >> david: kayna whitworth in california. thank you, kayna. we first reported last night here on the lawsuit filed by the football star at the center of that popular movie "the blind side." well tonight here, the husband and wife now responding, after being accused of never adopting that football star. here's abc's erielle reshef. >> you have any place to stay tonight? >> reporter: it was the real life story that inspired the oscar-winning film "the blind side." a homeless teenager, taken in by a family, who went on to become a first round nfl draft pick. >> go, michael, go! >> the baltimore ravens select michael oher. offensive tackle, mississippi. >> reporter: but tonight, michael oher, the football player portrayed in the film, says he was the one blindsided by the family he says never actually adopted him. in a new petition, oher claims leigh anne and sean tuohy instead tricked him into signing a document making them his conservators, claiming the family negotiated a movie deal, profited themselves, but that he was paid nothing. oher says he only learned of the situation earlier this year. tonight, the tuohy family claims oher threatened them as "part of a shakedown," and say that the idea that they "ever sought to profit off mr. oher is not only offensive, it is transparently ridiculous." they claim the family gave him "an equal cut of every penny received from 'the blind side.'" and david, the family says that this arrangement wasn't a secret, but oher is now asking the court to end that conservatorship, and says he wants to be paid his fair share of any profits the tuohys may have made in his name. and he's also seeking unspecified punitive damages. david? >> david: erielle, thank you. when we come back here, the dead whales washing up on new york beaches and here in the northeast. what's driving this? and the former nfl star and the horrific crash, in a moment. i'm still tasting what's 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