The 45-page, four-count indictment accuses Republican Trump of conspiring to defraud the United States by preventing Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s victory and denying voters their right to vote. a fair election.
Then-President Trump pushed fraud allegations he knew to be false, pressured state and federal officials — including Vice President Mike Pence — to alter the results, and ultimately instigated a violent assault on the US Capitol in a desperate attempt to undermine American democracy and cling to power, prosecutors said.
Trump was ordered to appear in federal court in Washington on Thursday. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who was appointed by Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama.
The charges stem from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s sprawling investigation into allegations that Trump was seeking to undo his loss to Biden. Despite a dizzying and growing array of legal troubles, Trump has cemented his status as the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, according to opinion polls.
Weeks of claims the election was stolen culminated in a fiery speech by Trump on January 6, 2021, as Congress convened to certify the results. Soon after, his supporters stormed the US Capitol in a bid to stop Congress from formalizing Biden’s victory.
In a brief statement to reporters, Smith placed the blame for the violence on Trump’s shoulders.
“The attack on our Nation’s Capitol on January 6, 2021 was an unprecedented attack on the seat of American democracy. As described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies – lies by the ‘accused, aimed at obstructing the fundamental function of the United States government,’ Smith said.
More than 1,000 people have been arrested in connection with the attack.
False voters list
Trump and others organized fraudulent voter rolls in seven states, all of which he lost, to be certified official by Congress on Jan. 6, according to the indictment.
The indictment sets out numerous examples of Trump’s election lies and notes that close advisers, including senior intelligence officials, repeatedly told him that the results were legitimate.
“These allegations were false and the defendant knew they were false,” prosecutors wrote.
When efforts to certify fake voters failed, Trump sought to pressure Vice President Mike Pence not to allow election certification, and took advantage of the chaos outside the Capitol to do, according to prosecutors. During the violence, Trump rebuffed calls from his advisers to deliver a calming message.
“Defendant attempted to use a crowd of supporters he had gathered in Washington, DC to pressure the Vice President into fraudulently altering the election results,” the indictment reads.
In a statement, the Trump campaign said he always obeyed the law and called the indictment a “persecution” reminiscent of Nazi Germany.
“President Trump will not be deterred by shameful and unprecedented political targeting!” he added. Later Tuesday, Trump’s campaign sent out a fundraising email referencing the indictment.
The indictment also includes six unnamed co-conspirators who have not been charged.
Based on the descriptions, they appear to include Trump’s former personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, who called on state lawmakers in the weeks following the 2020 election to urge them not to certify their states’ results; former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, who tried to get himself installed as attorney general so he could launch voter fraud investigations in Georgia and other swing states; and attorney John Eastman, who advanced the flawed legal theory that Pence could block voter certification.
“Every statement made by Mayor Giuliani was truthful and expresses his beliefs,” his lawyer Robert Costello told Reuters. “He believed there was evidence of voter fraud, and I’ve seen the affidavits that support that.”
Eastman’s attorney, Charles Burnham, said in an email that the indictment used a ‘misrepresentation of the record to invent criminal charges against presidential candidate Trump and cast disturbing slanders on those close to him. advisors”.
Clark did not respond to requests for comment.
The most serious charge against Trump carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, although sentencing is based on numerous factors and is subject to the judge’s discretion.
More and more legal problems
Trump had already become the first former US president to face criminal charges. He described all the prosecutions as part of a politically motivated witch hunt aimed at preventing his return to power.
Tuesday’s charges represent a second round of federal indictments by Smith, who was appointed special counsel in November by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Trump pleaded not guilty after a federal grand jury in Miami convened by the special counsel indicted him in June in a 37-count indictment for his unlawful retention of classified government documents after leaving his duties in 2021 and for obstruction of justice. Prosecutors accused him of risking some of America’s most sensitive national security secrets.
Last Thursday, prosecutors added three more counts against Trump, accusing him of ordering employees to delete security videos because he was under investigation for keeping the documents.
In March, a grand jury convened by the Manhattan district attorney indicted him for falsifying business records to hide silent money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election over a sexual relationship. that she would have had with him. Trump pleaded not guilty and denied the meeting.
Trump is the Republican frontrunner of 2024
Trump, 77, leads a packed field of Republican presidential candidates as he seeks a rematch with Biden, 80, next year.
Trump, who served as president from 2017 to 2021, has shown his ability to survive legal troubles, political controversies and personal behavior that could sink other politicians. Many Republicans — elected officials and voters — have rallied behind Trump, describing the charges against him as selective prosecutions and a Democratic plot to destroy him politically.
That pattern largely held true on Tuesday, as most Republicans turned to attacks on Biden. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican in Congress, said on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, that the indictment was an attempt “to attack the frontrunner for the Republican nomination”.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Trump’s main rival for the Republican nomination, said on X that he has yet to read the indictment. But he vowed to “end the militarization of the federal government,” suggesting the Biden administration was using the charges to target a political enemy.
Strategists said while the indictments could help Trump shore up support within his base and win the Republican nomination, his ability to leverage them may be more limited in next year’s general election. , when he will have to convince more skeptical Republicans and moderate independents.
Meanwhile, Trump’s legal woes mount. In addition to the three indictments, Trump faces a fourth criminal investigation by a county prosecutor in Georgia on charges he sought to reverse his 2020 election loss in that state.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said she plans to file charges in the case within the next three weeks.
Special advocates are sometimes appointed to investigate politically sensitive cases, and they do their job with some independence from Justice Department management.
Before being appointed by Garland to take over the two Trump-related investigations, Smith served as chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague, responsible for prosecuting war crimes in Kosovo, overseeing the public integrity section of the Ministry of Justice and worked as a federal prosecutor. and State’s Attorney in New York.
