The indictment against former President Trump is expanded

2023-08-03 07:26:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Special Counsel Jack Smith's 45-page indictment includes four counts, including conspiracy to commit fraud against the United States. "The purpose of the conspiracy was to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election by using knowingly false claims of voter fraud," the indictment states. Therefore, Republican Donald Trump must appear before a federal court in Washington on Thursday (03.08 .2023) at 4:00 p.m.

Smith is an independent lawyer and has been hired to oversee the US Department of Justice's criminal investigation into Trump. In November 2022, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed him special prosecutor. This came three days after Trump announced that he would run for the presidency in 2024.

This is the second federal indictment against Trump

The indictment against former President Trump is expanded

It is the second federal indictment against the 77-year-old and the third indictment against the former president. Trump wants to run again for the Republicans in the presidential elections next year. He denies all the charges and sees any legal action against him as an attempt by his opponents to prevent him from returning to the White House.

Trump called the indictment bogus. Shortly before the document was released, he asked, "Why didn't they do this 2.5 years ago?" The indictment was issued "to disrupt the 2024 presidential election."

Trump's team said the allegations were another attempt by President Joe Biden's administration to interfere in the 2024 presidential election. It is reminiscent of what happened in Nazi Germany and other authoritarian regimes. Trump has always obeyed the law.

Republican Trump lost the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden. He never admitted his defeat, but has since stubbornly spread baseless claims and lies that massive electoral fraud robbed him of a victory. At the time, Trump and those around him tried to use various channels to then overturn the result - including lawsuits, but also with political pressure on decision-makers in the federal government and in various states.

Unprecedented outbreak of violence

Trump's campaign against the election result eventually culminated in an unprecedented outbreak of violence on January 6, 2021: On that day, Republican supporters attacked the headquarters of the US Congress, where Biden's victory was to be officially confirmed. Trump had once again fired up his supporters in a speech earlier, claiming he had been robbed of a victory by massive election fraud. A violent mob then overran the Congress. Five people lost their lives in the riots.

The indictment against former President Trump is expanded

The US Department of Justice appointed special counsel Jack Smith in November (2022) to contract the politically sensitive investigation into the Trump case. His team gathered evidence against Trump for months and presented it to a jury. The so-called grand jury has now voted to indict Trump.

The Capitol attack had already had consequences: Trump faced impeachment proceedings in Congress due on January 6, 2021, where he was accused of "inciting riots". However, the two-thirds majority required for a conviction in the Senate was not secured.

Accused of paying the porn star

In the spring, Trump was already accused of paying money to silence a porn star in New York. The Republican became the first former president in US history to be charged with a felony. He pleaded "not guilty". Another indictment followed in June in Miami because Trump kept top-secret government documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after his term in office and failed to return them when requested. Again, Trump pleaded "not guilty"

In addition, the Republican may face another charge: In the state of Georgia, the public prosecutor's office investigated for two and a half years because of possible electoral influence by Trump and his environment. A decision on whether to indict Trump is still pending.

Leader in the polls

In the US, the presidential and congressional elections will take place in early November 2024. For the Democrats, Joe Biden is likely to seek a second term. According to polls, Trump is well ahead of the other candidates in the field of Republican presidential candidates. However, it may still be a long time before the party's official candidate is chosen for the primary elections in 2024./ DW