With two indictments already against him, former President Donald Trump now faces a third set of charges after a grand jury returned an extensive indictment accusing him of engaging in a "criminal scheme" to tamper with the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
In an effort to undermine democracy and maintain power, prosecutors claim that the alleged scheme, which involved six unidentified co-conspirators, involved recruiting a group of "fake electors" to target specific states, using the Justice Department to launch "sham election crime investigations," enlisting the vice president to "alter the election results," and doubling down on false claims as the riot on January 6 continued.
A representative of the Justice Department and several lawyers are among the six alleged co-conspirators.
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The broad indictment accuses Trump of four felonies: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. It is based on the investigation by special counsel Jack Smith.
The charges against Trump state that despite knowing the claims he made about the election, particularly those in Arizona and Georgia, were untrue, he continued to make them for months.
The indictment states, "The Defendant was determined to remain in power despite having lost." As a result, the defendant spread false information for more than two months after the election on November 3, 2020, claiming that there had been outcome-determinative fraud and that he had won.
These claims were untrue, and the defendant was aware of this. Nevertheless, the Defendant repeated and disseminated them widely in order to give credibility to his willfully false claims, foster a strong national climate of hostility, and undermine public confidence in the election's administration, according to the indictment.
Following the unsealing of the indictment, Trump called the additional charges a "pile-on" in an interview with ABC News.
He told ABC News that he is "doing very well in the polls" and that he is confident he will defeat President Joe Biden in 2024. "It's election interference," he said.
On Thursday in Washington, D.C., the former president is required to appear in court.
Smith referred to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6 as "an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy" in remarks made after the indictment was unsealed.
The attack's goal, according to Smith, was to "obstruct a fundamental duty of the United States government and the country's procedure for gathering, tallying, and certifying the results of the presidential election."
On Trump's Truth Social platform, the Trump campaign responded to the indictment by claiming that "the lawlessness of these persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the former Soviet Union, and other authoritarian, dictatorial regimes." President Trump has consistently acted in accordance with the law and the Constitution after consulting with a number of very skilled attorneys.
Following his indictment last month in the special counsel's investigation into his handling of classified materials after leaving office and his indictment in April on New York State charges of falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, this is the third time the former president has been charged with a crime.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges in both of those cases, having criticized the investigations as political witch hunts.
Before Trump's initial indictment in April, no president or former president had ever faced charges in the history of the nation.
In a letter that, according to sources, mentioned three federal statutes—conspiracy to commit crime or to defraud the United States, deprivation of rights under a civil rights statute, and tampering with a witness, victim, or informant—Smith informed Trump on July 16 that he was a target in the election investigation.
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Former White House aides to state election officials have testified before a grand jury Smith appointed in Washington, D.C. Former top Trump aide Hope Hicks and Trump's son-in-law and former senior adviser in the White House Jared Kushner have both testified in recent weeks.
Additionally, investigators have been speaking with election officials who are thought to have participated in the failed 2020 effort to nominate lists of so-called "fake electors" to vote for Trump on January 6.
After Trump's announcement in November that he was running for president again prompted the appointment of an independent special counsel to avoid a potential conflict of interest in the Justice Department, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith to oversee both the election investigation and the classified documents investigation.
In an effort to undermine democracy and maintain power, prosecutors claim that the alleged scheme, which involved six unidentified co-conspirators, involved recruiting a group of "fake electors" to target specific states, using the Justice Department to launch "sham election crime investigations," enlisting the vice president to "alter the election results," and doubling down on false claims as the riot on January 6 continued.
A representative of the Justice Department and several lawyers are among the six alleged co-conspirators.
HELP US CONTINUE TO BRING YOU THE BEST NEWS, OPINIONS
The broad indictment accuses Trump of four felonies: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. It is based on the investigation by special counsel Jack Smith.
The charges against Trump state that despite knowing the claims he made about the election, particularly those in Arizona and Georgia, were untrue, he continued to make them for months.
The indictment states, "The Defendant was determined to remain in power despite having lost." As a result, the defendant spread false information for more than two months after the election on November 3, 2020, claiming that there had been outcome-determinative fraud and that he had won.
These claims were untrue, and the defendant was aware of this. Nevertheless, the Defendant repeated and disseminated them widely in order to give credibility to his willfully false claims, foster a strong national climate of hostility, and undermine public confidence in the election's administration, according to the indictment.
Following the unsealing of the indictment, Trump called the additional charges a "pile-on" in an interview with ABC News.
He told ABC News that he is "doing very well in the polls" and that he is confident he will defeat President Joe Biden in 2024. "It's election interference," he said.
On Thursday in Washington, D.C., the former president is required to appear in court.
Smith referred to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6 as "an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy" in remarks made after the indictment was unsealed.
The attack's goal, according to Smith, was to "obstruct a fundamental duty of the United States government and the country's procedure for gathering, tallying, and certifying the results of the presidential election."
On Trump's Truth Social platform, the Trump campaign responded to the indictment by claiming that "the lawlessness of these persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the former Soviet Union, and other authoritarian, dictatorial regimes." President Trump has consistently acted in accordance with the law and the Constitution after consulting with a number of very skilled attorneys.
Following his indictment last month in the special counsel's investigation into his handling of classified materials after leaving office and his indictment in April on New York State charges of falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, this is the third time the former president has been charged with a crime.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges in both of those cases, having criticized the investigations as political witch hunts.
Before Trump's initial indictment in April, no president or former president had ever faced charges in the history of the nation.
In a letter that, according to sources, mentioned three federal statutes—conspiracy to commit crime or to defraud the United States, deprivation of rights under a civil rights statute, and tampering with a witness, victim, or informant—Smith informed Trump on July 16 that he was a target in the election investigation.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM WAYNEDUPREE.COM
Former White House aides to state election officials have testified before a grand jury Smith appointed in Washington, D.C. Former top Trump aide Hope Hicks and Trump's son-in-law and former senior adviser in the White House Jared Kushner have both testified in recent weeks.
Additionally, investigators have been speaking with election officials who are thought to have participated in the failed 2020 effort to nominate lists of so-called "fake electors" to vote for Trump on January 6.
After Trump's announcement in November that he was running for president again prompted the appointment of an independent special counsel to avoid a potential conflict of interest in the Justice Department, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith to oversee both the election investigation and the classified documents investigation.
