The Biden-Harris administration’s Department of Justice filed a superseding indictment against former President Donald Trump on Tuesday accusing him of interference in the 2020 election.
The 36-page indictment filed by special counsel Jack Smith includes four criminal charges: conspiracy to defraud the United States regarding the results of the presidential election, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding with regards to the Electoral College certification on Jan. 6, 2021, obstructing an official proceeding and conspiracy against voting rights.
Politico reported that these were the same four charges Smith brought in his original 45-page indictment in August 2023; however, the DOJ has reworked the charging document in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling in July that presidents have immunity for official acts taken while in office.
“The superseding indictment, which was presented to a new grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in this case, reflects the Government’s efforts to respect and implement the Supreme Court’s holdings and remand instructions,” Smith’s team wrote in an accompanying court filing with the indictment.
The Court held that Trump does not have immunity for private acts taken as president.
Trump’s legal team has argued that in his role as chief executive he was acting within his official capacity in seeking to ensure the integrity of the 2020 election.
“The new indictment underscores that Mike Pence was not only vice president, but also Trump’s ‘running mate’ when Trump pressured Pence to block the certification of the election results. It notes that Trump’s rally at the Ellipse on Jan. 6, 2021, was ‘privately-funded’ and ‘privately-organized.’ And it stresses that Trump often used his Twitter account for ‘personal purposes.’” Politico noted.
Last month, George Washington University Law School professor Jonathan Turley described the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision in the presidential immunity case as “very good” for Trump.
“In reading through this opinion, I can’t see how this doesn’t induce cardiac arrest for the special counsel,” Turley told Fox News.
Are the indictments against Trump politically motivated?
“Here the court is imposing a very significant burden on Jack Smith when this goes back to the judge,” he added. “The court here is giving much more clear lines than some people expected.”
Chief Justice John Robert wrote in the majority opinion, the president “is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts. There is no immunity for unofficial acts.”
“The indictment’s allegations that Trump attempted to pressure the Vice President to take particular acts in connection with his role at the certification proceeding thus involve official conduct, and Trump is at least presumptively immune from prosecution for such conduct,” the Court said.
Trump wanted the state legislatures in some states with close election results to conduct a further review for fraud. He argued that mass mail-in voting adopted in some states — like Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan — during the pandemic without legislative approval potentially undermined the integrity of the election.
Turley expounded, “This case is going to have to go back to the district court, which is going to have to try to thread this needle to determine what in the case would not fall under these protections.”
NPR reported, Smith has been consulting with DOJ officials for weeks about how to go forward with their case against Trump in light of the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling.
Trump has denied all wrong-doing.
NPR noted that the updated case will not be tried before the election, and if Trump were to win in November, the charges would likely be dropped by the new administration’s leadership at the DOJ.
