Trump indicted for efforts to reverse 2020 election loss

WASHINGTON – Former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a federal grand jury in the investigation led by Special Counsel Jack Smith.

The indictment relates to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Trump, who is now a leading Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential nomination, faces four charges. They include conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.

The indictment accuses Trump of knowingly spreading lies about widespread election fraud and refusing to accept his election results.

“The defendant lost the 2020 presidential election,” the indictment states. 

“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.”

It also alleges that he and his allies attempted to convince state officials to subvert election results. Additionally, his supporters tried to prevent the certification of Electoral College votes and exploited the January 6 Capitol riot.

The conspiracy against rights charge is linked to their alleged efforts to threaten and intimidate individuals in their right to vote and have their votes counted.

 The grand jury’s indictment repeatedly said Trump “knowingly” sought to mislead the American public to ensure that the peaceful transfer of power to Biden would not occur, and “pursued unlawful means of discounting legitimate votes and subverting the 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 ,” it said.

“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,” it added.

The conspiracy to defraud the US charge is related to Trump’s and his allies’ alleged efforts to convince state elections officials to subvert election results in seven states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

That included the use of fake electors to submit false election results suggesting Trump won state polls, and the use of the Justice Department “to conduct sham election crime investigations and to send a letter to the targeted states that falsely claimed that the Justice Department had identified significant concerns that may have impacted the election outcome.”

Other efforts included attempting to convince former Vice President Mike Pence not to carry out his constitutionally-mandated role of certifying election results, and exploitation of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, said the indictment.

The second and third charges — conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, and obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding — are related to efforts to prevent the certification of Electoral College votes.

The conspiracy against rights charge is tied to Trump’s and his co-conspirators’ alleged efforts “to injure, oppress, threaten, and intimidate one or more persons in the free exercise and enjoyment of a right and privilege secured to them by the Constitution and laws of the United States — that is, the right to vote, and to have one’s vote counted.”

Trump quickly issued a statement in which he alleged the case represents “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.”

Smith encouraged Americans to read the indictments for themselves, as he had in the classified documents case, maintaining the integrity of his probe. He vowed to pursue “a speedy trial so that our evidence can be tested in court and judged by a jury of citizens.”

“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 consistent with that commitment and our investigation of other individuals continues,” he said.