Three years ago, Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol – what role did the elected US President play in that? A new indictment weighs heavily on him – and could become a problem for the Republican in the current election campaign.
A month before the US presidential election, the judge responsible for the election fraud case, Tanya Chutkan, published the new indictment against Donald Trump. In the 165-page document, special prosecutor Jack Smith accuses the Republican of committing crimes in the fight to retain power after losing the 2020 presidential election.
It is the most detailed list of evidence in the case against Trump to date. Among other things, it publishes the statements of witnesses from a federal court grand jury and the results of the FBI investigation.
Trump is said to have lied to the public
Special investigator Smith assumes that Trump wanted to overturn the election – as a private individual and not in his official capacity as US President. This distinction is important because the Supreme Court in July granted former US presidents broad immunity for official actions. At its core, the plot was of a private nature, the prosecutors wrote in the written statement. Trump relied heavily on private actors to persuade them to overturn the election results.
“With his accomplices, the defendant embarked on a series of increasingly desperate schemes to overturn the legitimate election results in seven states that he lost,” the document says. Trump is said to have knowingly lied to the public, election authorities and his own Vice President Mike Pence. He wanted to ensure that he did not certify the election results in Congress.
There are some new details in the indictment. The Republican is said to have learned during the violent storm on the Capitol that Pence could be in danger. Trump's reaction to this is said to be a “So what?” have been – translated that means something like “So what?”.
The indictment had to be adjusted following the Supreme Court decision
The document is related to the violent storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump is said to have deliberately incited his supporters to prevent the confirmation of Democrat Joe Biden's election victory. As a result of these events, he was indicted on federal charges in the capital, Washington.
The indictment was renewed after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in July that Trump enjoyed immunity for certain official acts. This decision forced Special Counsel Smith to adjust the allegations against Trump in order to further advance the case.
Trump speaks of a “political witch hunt”
The ex-president and current Republican presidential candidate has pleaded not guilty and described the charges as a “political witch hunt.” In an initial reaction, Trump accused special counsel Smith of working for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. This was an instrumentalization of the judiciary 30 days before the election, said Trump.
What is certain, however, is that a possible process can no longer begin before the election. If the Republican wins the election, he could order the Justice Department to drop the case.
With information from Ralf Borchard, ARD Studio Washington