Donald Trump’s third historic criminal indictment, what is it, and what does it mean?
On August 1, special counsel Jack Smith held a brief televised press conference where he described the latest historic criminal indictment filed against former President Donald J. Trump. Yesterday’s indictment is centered around Trump’s alleged illegal efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election that he lost to current president Joe Biden. As characterized in the indictment, Trump did not want to give up the power of the presidency and he went far and above and beyond in his efforts to retain that power.Â
There are four charges levied against Trump in the indictment released yesterday and those charges are summarized below:
- Conspiracy to defraud the United States,
- Conspiracy to obstruct an official government proceeding (the certification of the Electoral vote),
- Conspiracy to deprive people of rights (the right to have their votes counted), and
- Trump was also charged with a fourth count of obstructing or attempting to obstruct an official proceeding.
Because many of us are not lawyers, there’s been some confusion in the general public regarding the difference between being criminally indicted or being criminally charged. Basically, either way, one is in serious trouble.
What Is the Difference Between Being Indicted and Charged?
The difference between being indicted and charged relies on who files the charges. “Being charged” with a crime means the prosecutor filed charges. An indictment means the grand jury filed charges against the defendant.
Regardless of how the state moves forth with filing charges, the results are the same for the defendant: an arrest and formal charges. ~ Goldman Wetzel, Tampa Bay Criminal Defense
The most recent indictment against Trump (there are now three) totals 45 pages wherein the former president has been charged with the above four counts, all felonies, and are based on the beliefs that Trump tried “to exploit the violent Jan. 6, 2021, assault on Congress to continue his effort to cling to power,” according to Politico.
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Statement as Delivered by Special Counsel Jack Smith, Aug. 1, 2023
… Today, an indictment was unsealed charging Donald J. Trump with conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to disenfranchise voters, and conspiring and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding. The indictment was issued by a grand jury of citizens here in the District of Columbia and sets forth the crimes charged in detail. I encourage everyone to read it in full.
The attack on our nation’s capital on January 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy. As described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies. Lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the U.S. government, the nation’s process of collecting, counting, and certifying the results of the presidential election.
The men and women of law enforcement who defended the U.S. Capitol on January 6 are heroes. They’re patriots, and they are the very best of us. They did not just defend a building or the people sheltering in it. They put their lives on the line to defend who we are as a country and as a people. They defended the very institutions and principles that define the United States.
Since the attack on our Capitol, the Department of Justice has remained committed to ensuring accountability for those criminally responsible for what happened that day. This case is brought consistent with that commitment, and our investigation of other individuals continues.
In this case, my office will seek a speedy trial so that our evidence can be tested in court and judged by a jury of citizens. In the meantime, I must emphasize that the indictment is only an allegation and that the defendant must be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
I would like to thank the members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who are working on this investigation with my office, as well as the many career prosecutors and law enforcement agents from around the country who have worked on previous January 6 investigations. These women and men are public servants at the very highest and it is a privilege to work alongside them.
Following his delivery of that statement above, Smith stolidly left the podium and didn’t take any questions from the press. Read the official indictment, in full, below.
Indictment, United States v. Donald J. Trump, August 1, 2023
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Former vice-president Mike Pence weighed in on the latest indictment against his former boss:
“The former president is entitled to the presumption of innocence, but with this indictment, his candidacy means more talk about January 6th and more distractions,” Pence said in a statement.
“On January 6th, former President Trump demanded that I choose between him and the Constitution. I chose the Constitution and I always will.” ~ The Washington Post
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Yesterday’s indictment against Trump, regarding his role and involvement in the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, is now his third criminal indictment and is only the latest in a string of his legal woes. PBS does a great job in outlining all of the current legal cases against Trump.
Recall that the former president has also been charged in federal court with the illegal retention of top-secret documents. In New York, he faces criminal charges in a hush money case and a civil trial over his business practices. And in Georgia, a county district attorney is expected to announce charging decisions in August over efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state.
In the classified documents case, Trump was charged with 40 felony counts including charges of retaining classified information, obstructing justice and making false statements. The classified documents case is special as it’s the first federal case levied against a former president.
In another historic legal case, his hush money scheme, Trump became the first U.S. president ever to be charged criminally for being indicted in New York on state charges “stemming from hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to bury allegations of extramarital sexual encounters.” The former president pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
The case against him in Georgia: Trump has been under investigation for his possible involvement, along with his cohorts, for allegedly meddling in the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
The Democratic district attorney’s investigation began shortly after the release of a recording of a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which the then-president suggested that Raffensperger could “find 11,780 votes” — just enough to overtake Democrat Joe Biden and overturn Trump’s narrow loss in the state.
Two New York Civil Cases:
- The State of New York sued Donald Trump alleging that he “misled banks and tax authorities about the value of assets including golf courses and skyscrapers to get loans and tax benefits.” That suit is seeking a $250 million fine and a ban on Trump doing business in the State.
- This spring, Trump was found liable of sexually abusing and defaming former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll in an incident that went down in the mid-1990s. The jury rejected Carroll’s claim that Trump raped her in a dressing room. He still owes his victim in that case $5 million.
Trump maintains his innocence in all the above cases and continues to claim that he’s the victim of a political witch hunt.
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Despite his legal woes, Trump continues to be the odds-on favorite frontrunner as the upcoming Republican presidential nominee. His presidential campaign is also raking in millions of dollars in campaign donations – with much of those monies going toward his legal expenses. The former president has been ordered to appear for his arraignment in a Washington D.C. federal courtroom on Thursday, August 3, to make his initial appearance in this third criminal indictment. He’s expected to enter a plea when he appears in court tomorrow.
For more on the story of a federal grand jury indicting Donald J. Trump for multiple felonies for attempting to corruptly overturn the results of the 2020 presidential elections, see the video accompanying this article.
(Donald Trump cover photo, Image credit: Twitter)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
