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A federal grand jury in Washington DC has indicted former US President Donald Trump on four counts of making efforts to block the transfer of power after losing the election to President Joe Biden.
Special counsel Jack Smith announced the indictment on Aug. 1 in a 3-minute press conference, calling Jan. 6, 2020, attack on the Capitol “unprecedented.”
“Today, an indictment was unsealed charging Donald J. Trump with conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to disenfranchise voters and conspiring and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding,” Smith said.
Smith encouraged Americans to read the 45-page indictment in full and gave a scathing preview of the upcoming trial.
Together with 6 unnamed co-conspirators, Trump is alleged to have committed the following crimes:
- COUNT ONE: Conspiracy to Defraud the United States
- COUNT TWO: Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding
- COUNT THREE: Obstruction of, and Attempt to Obstruct, an Official Proceeding
COUNT FOUR: Conspiracy Against Right
Smith describes Trump’s co-conspirators as follows:
Co-Conspirator 1, an attorney who was willing to spread knowingly false claims and pursue strategies that the Defendant’s 2020 re-election campaign attorneys would not.
Co-Conspirator 2, an attorney who devised and attempted to implement a strategy to leverage the Vice President’s ceremonial role overseeing the certification proceeding to obstruct the certification of the presidential election.
Co-Conspirator 3, an attorney whose unfounded claims of election fraud the Defendant privately acknowledged to others sounded “crazy.” Nonetheless, the Defendant embraced and publicly amplified Co-Conspirator 3’s disinformation.
Co-Conspirator 4, a Justice Department official who worked on civil matters and who, with the Defendant, attempted to use the Justice Department to open sham election crime investigations and influence state legislatures with knowingly false claims of election fraud.
Co-Conspirator 5, an attorney who assisted in devising and attempting to implement a plan to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding.
Co-Conspirator 6, a political consultant who helped implement a plan to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding.
“The attack on our nation’s Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy,” Special Counsel Jack Smith
“The attack on our nation’s Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy,” Smith continued. “And as described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies. Lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the US government. The nation’s process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election.”
The indictment highlights an incident involving Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence. Trump attempted to pressure his VP to overturn the election in his favor by rejecting the certification of the Electoral College vote showing Biden had defeated Trump. He berated Pence for not going along with the scheme but did not budge.
“The Vice President responded that he thought there was no constitutional basis for such authority and that it was improper,” the indictment stated. “In response, the Defendant [Trump] told the Vice President, ‘you’re too honest.'”
The indictment, the third overall and the second federal charge marks another dubious distinction for Trump, the first US President ever charged with federal crimes bordering on treason.
But as Smith is getting ready to drag Trump to a DC court for his arraignment on Thursday, Aug. 3, more state charges might be coming Trump’s way soon.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said she plans to announce charging decisions in her investigation of efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 results in Georgia.
“The work is accomplished. “We’ve been working for two-and-a-half years. We’re ready to go,” Willis said while responding to questions from an NBC-affiliated reporter.
But despite the indictment, Trump has maintained a commanding lead over his GOP presidential race rivals and has lashed out at Smith and Willis, inciting his supporters to rise against them.
Jack Smith’s Announcement.
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