Feds Bring New Election Subversion Indictment Against Trump After Immunity Ruling
Federal prosecutors led by special counsel Jack Smith filed a new superseding indictment returned by a jury Tuesday against former President Donald Trump in connection with his efforts to subvert the results of the 2020 election.
The indictment still has the same four felony conspiracy charges and is just a couple pages shorter than the original 2023 indictment, but the complaint has been amended to conform with the July 1 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on presidential immunity, which holds that a president is entitled to at least presumptive immunity for official acts.
Both parties will use the new indictment moving forward.
A notice filed with the court on Tuesday said the indictment “reflects the Government’s efforts to respect and implement the Supreme Court’s holdings and remand instructions in Trump v. United States.”
The new complaint still maintains the core allegations against Trump — the fake elector scheme, propagation of lies about voter fraud, and the attempt to pressure Vice President Mike Pence to block certification. One legal reporter noted on X that a co-conspirator was removed from the new version.
“Despite having lost, (Trump) was determined to remain in power. So, for more than two months following election day on November 3, 2020, (Trump) spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that he had actually won,” the complaint says.
According to CNN, the new complaint further distinguishes Trump’s acts as president from his acts as a presidential candidate. “The Defendant had no official responsibilities related to the certification proceeding, but he did have a personal interest as a candidate in being named the winner of the election,” the indictment reads.
Trump’s lies led a mob of his supporters to violently storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to disrupt the certification proceedings. He still faces four felony counts — Conspiracy to defraud the United States; Conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; Obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and Conspiracy against the right to vote and have one’s vote counted. A status report from both parties is due on Friday.
Since the Supreme Court ruling, Trump’s team has tried to get his New York criminal charges dropped after a jury convicted him in May. Trump was found guilty of 34 felonies in connection with a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential race. His attorneys in July asked a judge to toss his verdict in light of the Court’s decision.