Washington — The legal woes of former President Donald Trump have deepened as he was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to his efforts to cling to power post his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. This development complicates the legal landscape for Trump as he plans a third run for the presidency.
A federal grand jury on Tuesday issued an indictment presenting four charges against Trump: conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights.
When announcing the charges, Special Counsel Jack Smith referred to the events of January 6, 2021, as an “unprecedented assault” on democracy. He blamed the defendant, Trump, for spreading falsehoods aimed at undermining the essential process of the U.S. government — tallying, verifying, and certifying presidential election results.
The indictment highlights that despite his electoral defeat, Trump was intent on staying in power. Consequently, for more than two months following the election, he propagated false claims of election fraud and his supposed victory. The indictment stresses these claims were knowingly false, yet he continued to spread them widely.
The indictment also involves six anonymous co-conspirators alleged to have been employed by Trump in his unlawful attempts to overturn the election and hold onto power, reported CBS News.
The indictment asserts that Trump, along with his co-conspirators, pressed officials to dismiss the popular vote and coordinated deceitful elector slates in multiple states. It accuses them of employing knowingly false claims of election fraud to organize these fraudulent slates.
Furthermore, the indictment alleges that Trump and his co-conspirators attempted to misuse the Justice Department to launch counterfeit election crime investigations and tried to involve then-Vice President Mike Pence to manipulate the electoral vote count on January 6, to fraudulently alter the election outcome.
The indictment discloses that after news broke on January 6 that Pence would not manipulate the election results, an infuriated crowd — deceived by the defendant into believing Pence could alter the results — violently attacked the Capitol, disrupting the proceedings.
The indictment details Trump’s nonchalant attitude as he watched the violence on television, ignoring requests to categorically denounce the unrest.
Significantly, the indictment emphasizes the pivotal role of Pence as a witness in the case, highlighting his comprehensive, contemporaneous notes. Pence, who is a competitor for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, has not been indicted by the grand jury on charges related to inciting an insurrection, according to Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, a former Trump impeachment manager.
The indictment claims that Trump and his co-conspirators knowingly conspired to impede the rights of one or more persons to vote and have their vote counted, from November 14, 2020, through Inauguration Day, January 20, 2021, in Washington, D.C., and other locations.
Trump has been summoned to make an appearance before Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya at the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., at 4 p.m. ET on Thursday.
The Trump campaign reacted to the indictment by calling it another corrupt attempt by the Biden administration and their weaponized Department of Justice to impact the 2024 Presidential Election. They questioned the timing of the charges and maintained that Trump has always complied with the law.
In a statement, Pence said, “Today’s indictment serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States.” He also stated that he would comment further on the case after studying the indictment.
Smith stated his office’s intention to seek a speedy trial. However, it remains uncertain when the trial will commence. Trump is already slated to stand trial on state criminal charges in New York in March and on federal charges in Florida in May over his handling of classified documents.
