Special Counsel files new charges against Trump with more limited list of charges following Supreme Court immunity decision

Washington — Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a supplemental indictment against former President Donald Trump on Tuesday, again accusing Trump of opposing the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 presidential election. Smith limited the allegations after groundbreaking ruling by the Supreme Court about the power of the president earlier this year.

The new 36-page charging document is based on a more detailed list of alleged crimes after the Supreme Court ruled that Trump was immune from prosecution for some of the conduct included in Smith's indictment. original 45-page indictment returned last year.

Prosecutors stuck to the four charges against Trump that were previously brought against him, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, but limited the evidence included in the indictment and even removed an unnamed person from a List of unindicted co-conspirators. The original indictment described this person as “a Justice Department official working in civil matters who, along with the defendant, attempted to use the Justice Department to initiate sham investigations into election fraud and to influence state legislatures with knowingly false claims of election fraud.” It was believed to be Jeffrey Clarkwho headed the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice and later served as acting head of the Civil Division.

Smith and his team said a federal grand jury in Washington issued the new indictment on Tuesday. Prosecutors said they had no objection to Trump's waiver of appearance at an arraignment based on the new indictment.

In response to the charges, the former president accused Smith of trying to influence the November election in which he is running against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. In a series of social media posts, he claimed Smith was illegally appointed and called him “mentally disturbed.” Trump also said the charges must be dropped “immediately.”

A federal judge in Florida Charges filed Smith had filed a lawsuit against Trump over his handling of sensitive government documents, arguing that the appointment of the special counsel was illegal. Smith has appealed against this decision and is pushing for a retrial.

“That they are doing this immediately after our victory in the Supreme Court on immunity and other issues is shocking,” Trump wrote.

In the new indictment, Smith again listed alleged acts, including organizing fraudulent presidential electoral lists and devising a legal strategy with his private lawyers to undermine the transfer of power. He accused the former president of exploiting his role as a candidate for office – and not as President of the United States – to overturn the election results.

The new charges are a response to the Supreme Court's ruling last month in which the court's conservative majority ruled that presidents and former presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for “official acts” they take during their presidency. Some of the conduct alleged in Smith's original charges, such as Trump's conversations with the Justice Department in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, were disqualified, according to the opinion written in July by Chief Justice John Roberts.

Roberts divided presidential conduct into three categories: official acts that fall within the president's “core constitutional powers”; other official acts that fall outside his “exclusive authority”; and unofficial acts. Presidents have “absolute” immunity in the first category, “presumptive” immunity that can be rebutted by the government in the second category, and no immunity in the third category.

Applying that legal test, the Supreme Court ruled that the charges against Trump could not be linked to conduct related to his official duties as president. Other alleged conduct contained in the charging documents — including Trump's interactions with then-Vice President Mike Pence before Congress certified the Electoral College votes on Jan. 6, 2021 — was a narrower matter, the Supreme Court said. Other campaign-related conduct was likely criminal, the court said.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the opinion, saying that in her view, Trump's alleged attempt to create false electoral lists was private and “therefore not entitled to protection.”

Trump's lawyers also admitted in disputes before the judges in April that some of the acts contained in the indictment involved “private” conduct that could not be protected from criminal prosecution, including the involvement of outside lawyers who helped carry out the alleged plot to submit fraudulent electoral lists.

The High Court instructed the judge overseeing the case U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkananalyzing Smith's indictment to determine which alleged acts were “official” and “unofficial.”

After the mandate returned to her court Following the Supreme Court's decision, Chutkan asked prosecutors to submit a brief outlining their arguments for moving forward in the case by August 30. A hearing in the case is scheduled for September 5.

By filing the supplemental charges against the former president, the special counsel appears to have waived a possible evidentiary hearing in the case, which would have forced prosecutors to make the evidence collected against Trump public before the trial.

A source close to Trump's legal team told CBS News on Tuesday: “This was no surprise. Based on the Supreme Court ruling, that's what the government is supposed to do. It doesn't change our position that we believe Smith's case is flawed and should be dismissed.”

The source added that Trump's lawyers will ask for more time to present this case, which could delay the start of the trial if Judge Chutkan agrees.

Blacksmith Trump accuses over a year ago with four charges related to his conduct after the 2020 presidential election. Prosecutors alleged that the former president conspired to undermine the peaceful transfer of power through a pressure campaign at the state and federal levels that January 6: Attack on the Capitol.

Trump pleaded not guilty to the original charges and denied any wrongdoing.

Much of the conduct he was accused of in the first indictment remains intact in Smith's new charging documents, with notable exceptions, including the former president's cooperation with Justice Department officials and references to “Co-Conspirator 4.” The Supreme Court ruled that such conduct was absolutely immune from prosecution because it clearly fell within Trump's exclusive constitutional authority.

Prosecutors accused Trump of pressuring state officials to overturn their election results, saying he and five unnamed co-conspirators worked to compile a list of alternate electors before the election certification in Washington, DC.

Notably, the new indictment also repeats allegations that Trump tried to “enlist” Pence in his alleged plot. It clarifies, however, that prosecutors are not considering Pence as vice president in this matter, but as Trump's running mate in a political race. It also emphasizes Pence's role “by virtue of the Constitution” as president of the Senate, who played a “ceremonial role” in certifying the electoral votes on January 6.

However, the document omits at least one phone call between Trump and Pence on December 29, 2020, in which the former president allegedly conveyed to him a false claim that the Justice Department had found “serious violations.” It also appears to omit any mention of Trump's conversations with White House lawyers or agency leaders about the integrity of the 2020 election, such as claims by senior administration officials that there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud.

Prosecutors described Trump's remarks outside the White House on Jan. 6 in the new filing as “a campaign speech at a privately funded and privately organized political rally on the Ellipse.” During his speech to his supporters, the former president continued to make unsubstantiated claims that the election was rigged against him and urged his supporters to march to the Capitol to protest the election results.

Robert Costa contributed to this report.