A grand jury in Washington returned a new four-count indictment charging the former president with attempting to cancel the 2020 election and undermine legitimate voting results. Special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment is the result of a months-long investigation into Trump’s activities. A grand jury heard testimony from his supporters, opponents, and officials. The new indictments are likely to deal a major political blow to Trump and will mark the first time the US criminal justice system has attempted to punish a country’s leader for his actions related to the transfer of power, according to NBC News.
Trump was presented as the main conspirator
In the indictment, Special Counsel Smith lists three Trump-led conspiracies against the government’s central role of holding free and fair elections. First, he accused the former head of the White House of conspiring to deceive the United States. The charge is based on what prosecutors describe as the use of “dishonesty, fraud and deceit” to obstruct the electoral process.
Second, the indictment alleges that Trump was directly involved in a conspiracy to prevent the official conduct of the election, in particular, the recount of the Electoral College votes on January 6. And finally, it mentions a “voting rights conspiracy,” alleging that the former president and his accomplices deliberately sought to disenfranchise voters. Trump was charged with a fourth count of obstruction and attempted obstruction of the vote confirmation process.
In the 45-page indictment, prosecutors detailed the charges, alleging that Trump knowingly spread false allegations of fraud, called up false voter lists and attempted to block confirmation of the Jan. 6 election results. Police said Trump was “determined to stay in power” and allegedly spread lies for two months after losing the election to create “a tense atmosphere of mistrust and anger in the country” and “undermine public confidence in the election administration.” “. Smith gave the example of the elections in the state of Georgia. According to his results, Trump said that during four days in the state “more than 10 thousand dead citizens” voted, despite the fact that state authorities denied this information.
On the obstruction charge, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, the formal proceedings refer to the January 6, 2021 joint session of Congress in which electoral votes were counted to confirm Joe Biden as the winner. election official. Conspiracy to obstruct official proceedings is also punishable by up to 20 years in prison. This obstruction charge has already been brought against hundreds of the more than 1,000 people charged with rioting on Capitol Hill, including members of the far-right groups Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys. More than 100 people were convicted or found guilty of the crime. Conspiracy to defraud the United States is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Six accomplices who have not been charged
The indictment names six Trump associates who have not been charged as part of the Smith investigation, including four unnamed attorneys who allegedly aided the former president in his efforts to rig the 2020 election, as well as a Department of State official. Unidentified justice and an unidentified lawyer. political consultant. . Although the document does not name names, according to US media, they include former New York mayor and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, US lawyer John Eastman, Jeff Clark, a former Justice Department official, and Kenneth Chesebro, a lawyer accused of participating in in the “fake voters” scheme. Rudy Giuliani’s spokesman told NBC News that he could prove that Trump acted in good faith and not maliciously.
It is not yet clear when the case will go to trial, but Jack Smith said his office will seek a speedy trial. “I must emphasize that the accusation is only an accusation and that the defendant should be presumed innocent until proven beyond a reasonable doubt in court,” Smith said at a news conference Tuesday.
Trump has a tough 2024 schedule. The former president’s trial in New York on criminal charges of paying silence money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels will begin in March. A case involving classified documents at the Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida and the obstruction of the Justice Department’s efforts to return them will take place in May. The caucuses in Iowa, the first in the Republican race for the 2024 presidential nomination, are scheduled for January.
The allegations will not make Trump eligible for office
The indictments will not bar Trump from running for president again, nor will any conviction under US law. However, it would be highly unusual for a similarly experienced candidate to win the Republican presidential nomination. The only other impeached presidential candidate in recent history is former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who sought the Republican nomination in 2016 after being accused of abuse of power. Another Socialist Party candidate, Eugene Debs, ran into custody.
Trump has three indictments so far. Smith, who charged him in the Jan. 6 case, also charged him with illegal possession of classified documents. Trump has previously pleaded not guilty to 37 charges brought by Smith related to the alleged mispossession of classified records during his presidency. In Georgia, the attorney general is investigating alleged attempts by Trump and his allies to reverse the 2020 results and is expected to announce decisions on the charge this month.
Trump himself called the investigation a partisan political “witch hunt,” according to Fox News. “Joe Biden is running against Donald Trump and is currently losing. And now we have the Department of Justice accusing President Trump of actions that he has taken in his capacity as Chief Executive of the United States in connection with matters of public policy. said Trump attorney John Lauro. “So now we have the criminalization and gunning of public policy and political speech by a political party,” he added.
