Donald Trump faces new charges in the US in election rigging case – Euractiv

On Tuesday (August 27), Donald Trump faced a revised indictment from US federal authorities accusing him of illegally attempting to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Prosecutors have stepped up their approach after the US Supreme Court ruled that former presidents are entitled to broad immunity from criminal prosecution.

The team of US special counsel Jack Smith obtained the additional indictment in the Washington case, but it was highly unlikely that a trial would take place before the November 5 elections, in which Republican Trump will run against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

The revised indictment lays out the same four counts that prosecutors brought against the former president last year, but now focuses on Trump's role as a political candidate seeking re-election rather than his role as then-president.

The Supreme Court ruled on July 1 that Trump enjoys at least presumptive immunity from criminal prosecution for actions that were within the scope of his constitutional powers as president.

The revised indictment lays out the same four counts that prosecutors brought against the former president last year, but now focuses on Trump's role as a political candidate seeking re-election rather than his role as then-president.

Trump pleaded not guilty to the first count and described this and the other cases he faces as politically motivated attempts to prevent his return to power.

Polls show Harris has opened a narrow lead over Trump nationwide since Democratic President Joe Biden abandoned his bid for re-election last month.

This indictment, like the original, accuses Trump of a multi-party conspiracy to prevent the certification of his election defeat to Biden.

It continues to allege that Trump pressured then-Vice President Mike Pence to use his role as chairman of the congressional certification of the election on January 6, 2021, to reject electoral votes from swing states lost by Trump.

“The defendant had no official obligations related to the certification process, but as a candidate he had a personal interest in being declared the winner of the election,” the revised indictment states. This wording was not included in the original indictment.

On January 6, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol to prevent congressional confirmation, which remains part of the process against Trump.

Focus on campaign

The revised indictment no longer includes allegations that Trump attempted to pressure the U.S. Justice Department to overturn his election loss, an apparent attempt to preserve the prosecution after the Supreme Court found that Trump could not be prosecuted for such conduct.

It omits a reference to Jeffrey Clark, a senior official in the Trump administration's Justice Department who allegedly assisted him in his attempts to manipulate the election results and was described as a co-conspirator. It also omits a reference to former US Attorney General Bill Barr, who allegedly told Trump that his claims of widespread election fraud were untrue.

Bradley Moss, a lawyer specializing in national security, said the revised indictment reflected “a clear attempt by the Justice Department to limit the scope of the actual information” in response to the Supreme Court's immunity ruling.

The revised indictment is 36 pages long, nine pages shorter than the original, and is based on key testimony and evidence from witnesses mostly outside the federal government, including former Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, who the indictment alleges was pressured by Trump and a co-conspirator to call a special session hearing based on false claims of election fraud.

The case, one of four criminal proceedings against Trump, was delayed for months while Trump insisted on immunity. The Supreme Court's 6-3 decision was supported by a conservative majority that includes three justices nominated by Trump.

In May, Trump was found guilty by a New York jury of falsifying documents to cover up the payment of hush money to a porn star. His sentence is scheduled for September 18, although he has asked a judge to delay sentencing until after the November 5 election.

Smith's move came ahead of Friday's deadline for his office and Trump's lawyers to propose further action in the election tampering case following the Supreme Court's immunity ruling.

Read more at Euractiv