Former President Donald Trump has been indicted on a third set of felony charges, this time relating to his efforts to dispute the results of the 2020 election, even as he presses ahead with his third presidential run.
According to the indictment, Trump was indicted on four counts of three charges arising out of a probe by Special Counsel Jack Smith: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy to deprive citizens the “free exercise” of constitutional rights.
This is the second indictment arising from Mr. Smith’s investigation. The former president is separately facing 40 counts relating to the alleged retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
The Trump campaign responded to the new indictment, describing it as a politically motivated attack.
“This is nothing more than the latest corrupt chapter in the continued pathetic attempt by the Biden Crime Family and their weaponized Department of Justice to interfere with the 2024 Presidential Election, in which President Trump is the undisputed frontrunner, and leading by substantial margins,” a Trump campaign spokesperson said in an email.
“But why did they wait two and a half years to bring these fake charges, right in the middle of President Trump’s winning campaign for 2024? Why was it announced the day after the big Crooked Joe Biden scandal broke out from the Halls of Congress?”
Indictment
The 45-page indictment (pdf) charges Mr. Trump with an alleged “conspiracy” involving his efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election.
“The purpose of the conspiracy was to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election by using knowingly false claims of election fraud,” the indictment alleges.
The indictment also lists six unnamed co-conspirators. Four of them are attorneys. One was a Department of Justice official, and another was a political consultant.
The indictment acknowledges that all Americans, including Mr. Trump, have a First Amendment right to publicly speak about the election, or to even falsely claim that he had won. He also “was entitled to formally challenge” the election results, it states.
But, the problem for him occurred, according to the indictment, when he allegedly “pursued unlawful means of discounting legitimate votes and subverting the election results.”
The conspiracy, according to Smith’s indictment, included the alleged spread of “false claims of election fraud” and the organizing of alternate electors in seven states. The indictment makes mention of specific claims by Mr. Trump and his allies of voter fraud in states such as Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Arizona.
The special counsel also alleges in the indictment that the claims of election fraud were false and unsubstantiated, relying mostly on statements from officials which have previously been used to challenge allegations of voter fraud.
The indictment claimed that Mr. Trump had encouraged his supporters to come to Washington under what it alleges was a “false expectation that the Vice President had the authority to and might use his ceremonial role at the certification proceeding to reverse the election outcome.”
Mr. Smith, at a brief press conference on Tuesday evening, called the events of Jan. 6, 2021 “an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy.” This, he said, was “fueled” by Mr. Trump’s lies aimed at disrupting the government’s “bedrock function” of conducting and certifying elections.
The Trump campaign spokesperson said in a statement that “President Trump has always followed the law and the Constitution, with advice from many highly accomplished attorneys.”
“These un-American witch hunts will fail and President Trump will be re-elected to the White House so he can save our Country from the abuse, incompetence, and corruption that is running through the veins of our Country at levels never seen before.”
Mr. Trump is scheduled to appear at a federal courthouse in Washington at 4 p.m. on Thursday.
By Janice Hisle
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