Former President Donald Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury on Tuesday for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The four-count indictment stems from the investigation launched by Special Counsel Jack Smith into the Capitol Riot on January 6, 2021, making this the second set of charges Smith has brought against the former president.
Trump stands accused of 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.
Smith’s indictment begins:
“The Defendant, Donald J. Trump, was the forty-fifth President of the United States and a candidate for re-election in 2020. The Defendant lost the 2020 presidential election. Despite having lost, the Defendant was determined to remain in power. So for more than two months following election day on November 3, 2020, the Defendant spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that he had actually won. These claims were false, and the Defendant knew that they were false. But the Defendant repeated and widely disseminated them anyway — to make his knowingly false claims appear legitimate, create an intense national atmosphere of mistrust and anger, and erode public faith in the administration of the election.”
Smith acknowledges that Trump had the right to make these false statements and to contest the results, stating “The Defendant had a right, like every American, to speak publicly about the election…He was also entitled to formally challenge the results of the election through lawful and appropriate means…” However, Smith argues that the former president’s actions extended beyond the scope of free speech protections.
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Along with Trump, the indictment list six unnamed co-conspirators, identified as a group of attorneys, consultants, and Justice Department members that aided Trump’s “criminal efforts” to overturn the election.
Trump was ordered to appear for arraignment in a Washington D.C. court on Thursday, August 3 at 4:00 pm, where he is expected to plead not guilty.
This latest indictment comes less than a week after he was hit with additional criminal charges regarding his mishandling of classified documents (the other federal case being overseen by Smith). That case now stands at 40 charges, and a separate 34-count fraud case in New York State is also ongoing. Additionally, a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, heard testimony regarding Trump’s efforts to overturn the election in that state and is expected to submit a recommendation to prosecutors in the coming weeks.
The new indictment is provided below in its entirety:
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