Special investigator Jack Smith is not giving up: With a revised indictment, he wants to get Donald Trump after all for alleged election manipulation – despite his immunity.
A revised indictment has been filed in the federal case against former US President Donald Trump for attempted election fraud. Special investigator Jack Smith’s team resubmitted the document after the US Supreme Court, with its right-wing conservative majority, ruled in early July that Trump was immune from certain official acts. Because of the court’s historic decision, Smith and his team had to adjust the indictment against Trump in order to be able to move the case forward.
Because of immunity decision: Special investigator adjusts Trump indictment
The new version is a little shorter and excludes some passages from the original indictment, including Trump’s interactions with the Justice Department. However, the four charges against him remain unchanged. Trump is accused of conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.
Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021. Before storming the Capitol, Trump had tried on various levels to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election and reverse his defeat to Democrat Joe Biden. The Republican was charged at the federal level in the US capital Washington – a similar charge was also brought against him in the US state of Georgia.
“Dead” witch hunt: Donald Trump rails against renewed lawsuit
Trump’s team has been trying for months, with some success, to delay these and other criminal proceedings against him and to avert trials. The Republican has maintained his innocence in all proceedings and portrays the investigations against him as an attempt by his political opponents to sideline him.
On the Truth Social platform, which he co-founded, Trump wrote that Smith was simply trying to revive a “dead” witch hunt with the “ridiculous” new indictment. This was an “act of desperation.” The charges must be dismissed, he demanded.
Trump’s lawyers took the issue of presidential immunity to the Supreme Court with the aim of having the charges in Washington dropped entirely. They have not yet succeeded in doing so. What Trump’s lawyers have achieved, however, is a significant delay. Experts believe it is impossible that the Washington case could go to trial before the presidential election in early November.
Where are the other procedures?
The Atlanta trial on attempted election fraud
Trump was also charged in the state of Georgia for his attempts to influence the 2020 election – together with several other people. Most recently, however, the focus of the proceedings was no longer on Trump, but on the lead prosecutor Fani Willis. Lawyers for Trump and other defendants accused her of having illegally profited financially from a romantic relationship with another prosecutor involved in the case. An appeals court froze the proceedings against Trump for the time being until a ruling is made on whether Willis can continue her investigation. The three appeals judges have until March 2025 to decide on this. A first hearing is planned for October. A start of the trial before the presidential election is therefore considered out of the question.
The trial in Miami on the document affair
In Miami, Florida, Trump was also charged at the federal level for his handling of top secret government documents. He is accused of illegally storing highly sensitive information from his time as president (2017 to 2021), as well as conspiracy to obstruct the investigation. Trump is said to have tried to use staff to make footage disappear from surveillance cameras and to have boxes of documents removed. Smith also led these investigations.
The judge in charge unexpectedly closed the case in mid-July. She justified this by saying she had doubts about the legality of the special investigator’s appointment. Smith appealed against this decision. If he is successful, the case would be reopened. But even in that case, it is considered practically impossible that the case would go to trial before the presidential election in November.
Proceedings in New York regarding illegally recorded hush money
In New York, the Republican was convicted at the end of May for illegally making hush money payments to a porn actress. The prosecution charged Trump with falsifying business records. He had used them to conceal damaging information and illegal activities before and after the 2016 presidential election in order to improve his chances of winning the election. The sentence has not yet been announced. This step has already been postponed once, from July to mid-September. Trump’s lawyers want to get another postponement – until after election day in November. Trump has also announced that he will appeal the verdict.
