Federal grand jury has indicted former US President, Donald Trump in criminal charges.
Gatekeepers News reports that Trump was indicted in a case that strikes at his efforts to remain in the White House after losing the 2020 election and undermine the long-held American tradition of a peaceful transfer of presidential power.
The former US President is scheduled to appear at the Washington, DC, federal courthouse at 4 p.m. ET on Thursday.
As part of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation, Trump was charged with, 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.
The indictment reads, “(F)or 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 they were false,” it adds, referring to Trump. “But the defendant disseminated them anyway – to make his knowingly false claims appear legitimate, create an intense atmosphere of mistrust and anger, and erode public faith in the administration of the election.”
Plots to overturn the 2020 election shattered presidential norms and culminated in an unthinkable physical assault on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, as Congress met to certify President Joe Biden’s victory.
Prior to that, the former President engaged in an unprecedented pressure campaign toward state election workers and lawmakers, Justice Department officials and even his own vice president to persuade them to throw out the 2020 results.
Smith, while addressing reporters that he will seek a “speedy trial” and encouraged members of the public to read the indictment.
He said in a brief statement, “The attack in our nation’s capital on January 6 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy, and as described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies.
“Lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing the bedrock function of the US government nation’s process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of a presidential election.”
Trump ‘exploited’ January 6 attack, prosecutors say
The indictment alleges that Trump and co-conspirators “exploited” the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by continuing efforts to convince members of Congress to delay the certification of the election.
According to the indictment, “As violence ensued, the Defendant and co-conspirators exploited the disruption by redoubling efforts to levy false claims of election fraud and convince Members of Congress to further delay the certification based on those claims.”
The indictment further said that Trump had deceived many rioters to believe then-Vice President Mike Pence could change the election results to make Trump the victor.
Meanwhile, six unindicted co-conspirators were included in the filing.
Among the six are four unnamed attorneys who allegedly aided Trump in his effort to subvert the 2020 election. The unnamed Justice Department official who “attempted to use the Justice Department to open sham election crime investigations and influence state legislatures with knowingly false claims of election fraud” was also indicted.
The indictment further mentions an unnamed “political consultant who helped implement a plan to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding.”
Those counts carry a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment. The appropriateness of using the law to prosecute the rioters has been litigated in the Capitol breach cases.
The former President also faces a conspiracy against rights charge under a Reconstruction-era civil rights law – prohibits two or more people from conspiring to “injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any….the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States.”
It carries a 10 year maximum sentence of imprisonment, unless the conspiracy results in death.
The indictment is the second time in two months that Smith has brought charges against Trump.
In June, the former President was charged with retention of classified documents and conspiracy with a top aide to hide them from the government and his own attorneys.
Meanwhile, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg had in March, indicted Trump on state charges of falsifying business records.
