Trump indicted over efforts to overturn 2020 election
- Donald Trump was indicted for a second time by federal prosecutors
- He is accused of conspiring to stay in power after his election loss
- The former president denies all wrongdoing
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(NewsNation) — Former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a federal grand jury on four charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump has been charged with four crimes: one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count each of obstructing an official proceeding and conspiring to do so, and one count of conspiracy against rights.
“For more than two months following election day on November 3, 2020, the Defendant spread lies that there had been an outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that he had actually won,” the indictment reads. “These claims were false, and the Defendant knew that they were false.
Federal prosecutors say Trump’s “knowingly false claims” created “an intense national atmosphere of mistrust and anger” that eroded public faith in the election, according to the indictment.
“The attack on our nation’s capital on Jan. 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy,” special counsel Jack Smith said in a news conference announcing the indictment. “As described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies; lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the U.S. government: The nation’s process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election.”
Read the full indictment:
Trump Indictment by NewsNation Digital on Scribd
The Trump campaign blasted the new charges in a statement Tuesday evening.
“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,” the Trump campaign wrote.
The White House declined to comment.
Over the past year, Smith’s team has questioned a number of people including former Vice President Mike Pence, Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani and local election officials in states including Michigan and New Mexico.
The investigation has focused on the role Trump’s lawyers played during the push to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
In December, the House Jan. 6 Committee wrapped up its own investigation into the riot at the Capitol and recommended criminal charges against the former president.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing, using his social media platform Truth Social to denounce Smith. The former president called Smith “deranged” in a post Monday and blasted the special counsel’s team as a “highly partisan gang of Thugs.”
The indictment includes six unnamed co-conspirators. NewsNation partner The Hill was able to identify five of the six people.
The co-conspirators include Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani; attorney John Eastman; attorney Sidney Powell; former Justice Department attorney Jeffrey Clark; and attorney Kenneth Chesebro. The sixth co-conspirator is described in the indictment as a “political consultant.”
“Since the attack on our Capitol, the department of Justice has remained committed to ensuring accountability for those criminally responsible for what happened that day. This case is brought consistent with that commitment, and our investigation of other individuals continues,” Smith said.
Eastman’s attorneys said in a statement their client is not involved in any plea bargaining, but that he would decline to work with prosecutors anyway.
“The fact is, if Dr. Eastman is indicted, he will go to trial. If convicted, he will appeal. The Eastman legal team is confident of its legal position in this matter,” his attorneys said in the statement.
This is the third criminal indictment against the former president. He was first indicted in April by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for falsifying business records. He faces 34 counts in that case.
The second was delivered in June, related to Trump’s retention of classified documents after his presidency. Trump faces 37 counts of mishandling classified documents.
Trump may also face a possible indictment in Georgia, where Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating whether Trump broke the law as he pressured state election officials to change election results.
The indictments have implications for the 2024 presidential race. Trump is currently leading most national polling for the Republican nomination, which creates the possibility that these legal troubles may continue to dog him in a general election against incumbent President Joe Biden.
