Donald Trump was indicted on Tuesday for his wide-ranging attempts to overturn the 2020 election, the third time in four months that the former U.S. president has been criminally charged even as he campaigns to regain the presidency next year.
The four-count, 45-page indictment charges Republican Trump with conspiring to defraud the U.S. by preventing Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden's victory and to deprive voters of their right to a fair election.
Then-President Trump pushed fraud claims he knew to be untrue, pressured state and federal officials - including Vice President Mike Pence - to alter the results and finally incited a violent assault on the U.S. Capitol in a desperate attempt to undermine American democracy and cling to power, prosecutors said.
Trump was ordered to make an initial appearance in federal court in Washington on Thursday. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who was appointed by Trump's predecessor Barack Obama.
The charges stem from Special Counsel Jack Smith's sprawling investigation into allegations Trump sought to reverse his loss to Biden. Despite a dizzying and growing array of legal troubles, Trump has solidified his status as the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, according to public opinion polls.
Weeks of assertions that the election had been stolen culminated in a fiery Trump speech on Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress met to certify the results. Soon after, his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a bid to stop Congress from formalizing Biden's victory.
In a brief statement to reporters, Smith placed the blame for the violence squarely on Trump's shoulders.
"The attack on our nation's Capitol on Jan. 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 the bedrock function of the U.S. government," Smith said.
PHONY SLATE OF ELECTORS
Trump and others organized fraudulent slates of electors in seven states, all of which he lost, to submit their votes to be counted and certified as official by Congress on Jan. 6, the indictment said.
The indictment lays out numerous examples of Trump's election falsehoods and notes that close advisers, including senior intelligence officials, told him repeatedly that the election results were legitimate.
"These claims were false, and the defendant knew that they were false," prosecutors wrote.
When the push to certify the fake electors failed, Trump sought to pressure Vice President Mike Pence not to allow the certification of the election to go forward, and took advantage of the chaos outside the Capitol to do so, according to prosecutors. During the violence, Trump rebuffed calls from his advisers to issue a calming message.
"The Defendant attempted to use a crowd of supporters that he had gathered in Washington, D.C. to pressure the Vice President to fraudulently alter the election results," the indictment reads.
In a statement, the Trump campaign said he had always followed the law and characterized the indictment as a "persecution" reminiscent of Nazi Germany.
"President Trump will not be deterred by disgraceful and unprecedented political targeting!" it added.
The indictment also includes six unnamed co-conspirators. Based on the descriptions, they appear to include Trump's former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who called several state lawmakers in the weeks following the 2020 election to pressure them not to certify their state's results; former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, who tried to get himself installed as attorney general so he could launch voter fraud investigations in Georgia and other swing states; and attorney John Eastman, who advanced the erroneous legal theory that Pence could block the electoral certification.
In a statement, Giuliani's adviser, Ted Goodman, accused the Biden administration of targeting Trump simply for "daring to ask questions" about the election. Clark and Eastman did not respond to requests for comment.
The most serious charge against Trump carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, though sentencing is based on numerous factors and is subject to the judge's discretion.
MOUNTING LEGAL WOES
Trump already had become the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges. He has sought to portray all of the prosecutions as part of a politically motivated witch hunt aimed at preventing his return to power.
Tuesday's charges represent a second round of federal charges by Smith, who was appointed a special counsel in November by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Trump pleaded not guilty after a federal grand jury in Miami convened by the special counsel charged him in June in a 37-count indictment over his unlawful retention of classified government documents after leaving office in 2021 and obstructing justice. Prosecutors accused him of risking some of the most sensitive U.S. national security secrets.
Last Thursday, prosecutors added three more criminal counts against Trump, bringing the total to 40, accusing him of ordering employees to delete security videos as he was under investigation for retaining the documents.
The first charges brought against Trump emerged in March when a grand jury convened by Manhattan's district attorney indicted him. Trump in April pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts accusing him of falsifying business records concerning a payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she said she had with him. Trump has denied the encounter.
REPUBLICAN FRONT-RUNNER
Trump, 77, leads a crowded field of Republican presidential candidates as he seeks a rematch with Biden, 80, next year.
Trump, who served as president from 2017 to 2021, has shown an ability to survive legal troubles, political controversies and personal behavior that might sink other politicians. Many Republicans - elected officials and voters - have rallied behind Trump, portraying the charges against him as selective prosecution and a Democratic plot to destroy him politically.
That pattern largely held on Tuesday, as most Republicans pivoted to attacks on Biden. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican in Congress, said on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, that the indictment was an attempt to "attack the frontrunner for the Republican nomination."
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Trump's leading rival for the Republican nomination, said on X that he had yet to read the indictment. But he vowed to "end the weaponization of the federal government," suggesting that the Biden administration was using the charges to target a political enemy.
Strategists said that while the indictments could help Trump solidify support within his base and win the Republican nomination, his ability to capitalize on them may be more limited in next year's general election, when he will have to win over more skeptical moderate Republicans and independents.
Meanwhile, Trump's legal woes are growing. In addition to the three indictments, Trump faces a fourth criminal investigation by a county prosecutor in Georgia into accusations he sought to undo his 2020 election loss in that state.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has indicated she plans to bring charges in that case within the next three weeks.
Special counsels are sometimes appointed to investigate politically sensitive cases, and they do their jobs with a degree of independence from the Justice Department leadership.
Before being appointed by Garland to take over the two Trump-related investigations, Smith had served as the chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague, assigned to prosecuting war crimes in Kosovo, oversaw the Justice Department's public integrity section and worked as a federal and state prosecutor in New York.
© Thomson Reuters 2023.
115 Comments
Blacklabel
good luck proving what someone “knows”.
EFD
Gilly, I sure hope that Jack Smith thought of that, lol.
EFD
6 co-conspirators including Rudy, Eastman, Powell and Clark.
EFD
His only defenses are insanity and stupidity.
ok1517
Good to hear!
Donald Dump will get busted, the sooner, the better!
Even he is not above the law!
EFD
He conspired to overthrow the government in order to overturn the results of a free and fair election that he knew he lost.
In his attempted coup, he tried to weaponize the DOJ (Where have we heard that before?).
He tried to get his co-conspirators to submit a slate of illegal fake electors.
When that didn't work he conspired to unleash a mob.
EFD
This one is going to trial in DC. No classified Intel to gum up the works.
No inexperienced judge.
This is a rocket docket circuit.
No Trump efforts to needlessly delay and then whine about it.
This one may get a verdict before the general election.
Blacklabel
We got him this time!
walls closing in!
sound familiar? This is the weakest case of the 3 and that is saying something.
good thing Jack is experienced at losing political prosecutions.
EFD
"Just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me the the House GOP."
EFD
Jack Smith is seeking a speedy trial. So no whining about delays.
At least no justified whining.....
wallace
Trump indicted for Jan 6.
His claims of election fraud were false.
https://www.scribd.com/document/662462287/Trump-indictment#
The arraignment will be on Thursday in Washington.
lincolnman
No need for luck, they have the Trump insiders to prove it...
*Alyssa Farah Griffin, the former White House director of strategic communications, said on CNN's "State of the Union" that Trump "blurted out watching Joe Biden on TV, 'Can you believe I lost to this guy?'"*
Six others - wanna bet Rudy Giuliani is one of them? The guy that met with Smith's team for eight hours and submitted a "proffer" outlining what more he could testify to if offered a "deal to squeal"....
So is Giuliani still a MAGA-hero?
Cards fan
Considering the conviction rate for federal prosecutors, they probably don't need luck. Trump on the other hand. Lol
Superlib
What a loser.
dagon
With Trump almost assured of getting the nomination, it is going to be the centerpiece of the campaign and be all about division.
There are so many other issues facing the American people that need addressing.
It is "sad" as Trump would say but that is what his corporate masters like; more division and diversion.
Cards fan
oh, not just this time. This is the third federal case, and even more if we consider the rape cases, and the ongoing Georgia investigations.
Really? According to whom?
EFD
Americans are not going to elect a convicted sex-offender who is now 3 times indicated including for trying to overturn an election that he lost.
Oh, he botched the pandemic response and obstructed justice in keeping classified documents as well.
stormcrow
Is Donald Trump the closest the USA has ever come to a dictatorship? With all of the crime, fraud and treason swirling around this one man, how can he still be as popular as he is among so many?
His crimes are far worse than anything Richard Nixon ever did, yet there he is ready to run for the highest office again. As a reflection of America’s democracy, what does that tell us?
EFD
From the indictment:
There are contemporaneous notes from Pence.
His own WH counsel said "There is no world, no scenario in which you do not leave the White House on January20th."
Knowledge of loss: Check.
Blacklabel
I’m amused as Trump will just fundraise another 50 million and take the lead over Biden in the next NY Times poll instead of being tied.
all this nonsense of indicting ex presidents and their lawyers after disputed elections is gonna boomerang on Grandpa Joe just as soon as he is out of office.
Peter Neil
The hits keep coming. Next up, indictment in Georgia.
It's like a Hallmark movie.
Simon Foston
BlacklabelToday 07:40 am JST
I imagine Donald Trump is amused too.
wallace
If Trump is reelected before the court case the DOJ does not prosecute a sitting president. Trump could pardon himself.
wallace
The third indictment of an ex-president. America looks sad on the international stage. Trump tries to destroy democracy and have a coup.
ClippetyClop
Trump’s only hope is that a two-tier justice system exists.
He has 6 trial dates to attend in 2024 before the elections unless he can delay them.
If he wins the election he can tell the DOJ to end it all.
If he loses yet again then he’s in trouble.
He may need to resort to violence again.
Politik Kills
that’s it, bilk the rubes out of their money, throw it around, burn it, because it’s all about the millions.
@Blacklabel this 3rd indictment is the best thing to happen in your ridiculous clown politics since the Mango Mussolini was kicked to the kerb.
bass4funk
I would agree. Funny
Mark
Great News, now LOCK EM UP.
Bob Fosse
Grrr just you wait. I’ll win something someday grrrr.
Blacklabel
Georgia was supposed to be next. Now their timing is all off due to needing a response to yesterdays testimony.
7 June FBI bribery document release. 8 June indictments.
26 July plea deal fall apart. 27 July add more charges to indictment.
31 July Congress testimony. 1 August new indictment.
pattern much?
Mark
EFD "" His only defenses are insanity and stupidity.""
YES, and he will probably take this option based on his attorneys advice.
bass4funk
For what?
Sums up the DOJ in a nutshell.
ClippetyClop
The Deep State is well coordinated.
They are giving you time to line up your conspiracies.
plasticmonkey
Yep. He's a serial crook.
plasticmonkey
I guess somebody's hasn't been following the news.
nishikat
Yes, it just takes time to get things together with a grand jury. Now Trump needs money because there is some serious news that Trump is running out of campaign funds for all those lawyers he has. This is not about saving America. This is about saving Trump and all these Trump followers on JT or elsewhere need to give as much money as they can (in fact more than they can) so Trump is saved from Hillary and the deep state. Support Trump? Then send him some money or it's just being a talker.
Bordeaux
LOL! Not needed. Federal prosecutors do not bring cases that they cannot win.
Trump has been charged with four criminal counts:
Conspiracy to defraud the United States.
Conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.
Obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding.
Conspiracy against rights.
NOTE: Judge Cannon cannot do anything to interfere or postpone this trial, nor can any other local trump-elected or trump-voted judge in some Republican state.
Strangerland
good luck proving what someone “knows”.
It's not hard proving what someone claims to know. You just go and get sworn testimony from all the people he said the thing he knows to. Does he really know it? Who knows. But did he say he knows it? If he did, then you can infer he probably does.
Of course, I'm not speaking of Trump, because he's our Dear Leader, and we all know he is a saint who would never try to hold on to power even after losing an election.
I am MAGA and we have spoken.
Bob Fosse
No it doesn’t.
If someone is under investigation for multiple crimes try considering the possibility they may have committed several crimes.
The only defence I’m hearing is ‘just you wait until it’s our turn’ or ‘other crimes have happened at some point in history’
Yrral
American law is not based on insecure Japanese,that have no knowledge of the law,being insecure should be against the law,a paralegal could prosecute Trump ,how easy it would be,when you have a willingly conspirator like Trump
Bob Fosse
Sure, because nobody has ever been convicted of crime with intent before. To do that they would need to read minds.
You’re onto something. Unless the DOJ have some kind or reliable psychic mind reading device they should toss the case.
Always such novel approaches Bass. Where so you get your ideas?
wtfjapan
good thing Jack is experienced at losing political prosecutions.
actually he experience at getting guilty verdicts for war criminals,
why do you think nearly every lawyer or firm that have been approached by Trumps team have turned down the offer. theyve stated that the evidence is so mountainous that winning is almost impossible, or the bad publicity would most likely effect their currently clients that actually pay their bills. most of Trump lawyers have quit or are currently under investigation themselves, fined for frivolous lawsuits and on the way to being disbarred. representing Trump is a career death sentence
MAGA make attorneys get attorneys
plasticmonkey
Unsubstantiated nonsense. Not worth debating.
Yrral
Bob , people are convicted of conspiracy, without even going ahead with actual crime
bass4funk
I disagree.
https://thefederalist.com/2023/07/26/the-doj-is-so-compromised-a-special-counsel-for-biden-family-corruption-wont-do-jack/
While ignoring their own crimes, uh-huh….
And that is to a small extent true. Hope the Dems are ready. Remember, you can punch me in the head as many times as you want, when it’s my turn, believe me, I’ll reciprocate that love, care and concern equally.
Bob Fosse
That is a main headline on every media source in the world.
Must be some kind of global conspiracy. From Mumbai to Mogadishu, they’re all in on it. Joe must be the most powerful man alive. Strange that 45 didn’t have that power when he was sitting President.
bass4funk
You can’t debate, if you are being blocked, shunned or deleted. You can call it nonsense all day when you hold the mic. Shouldn’t democracy be allowed to all sides? The left is essentially saying, I don’t want to hear your side, you need to listen to my side and believe me, and this is why Trump continues to rise. You guys are helping him. Lol
nishikat
Does this "love care and concern" come in the form of a check donated to Trump to pay his legal fees? Defending Trump on JT is just words, but Trump needs money because he needs to be saved from Hillary and the deep state.
Can you be specific?
Moderator
Readers,, please don't be so obsessed with this topic. Please make your point and then move on to other topics.
bass4funk
Again, show intent and this is the Achilles heel that Smith will have to hurdle through, good luck with that.
Or fail to prove their case. Kinda like the triangle not fitting into the square peg theory.
Listening to other legal opposing viewpoints, not just the hate Trump, get Trump mob
Bob Fosse
Bass, that’s all just more ‘it’s not fair, just you wait’ whining.
bass4funk
No, it’s more like, “let’s listen to all sides, and I mean all sides!”
nishikat
Who are these people? This is up to a grand jury...then up to a trial jury. The CNN/MSNBC Trump hating people have nothing to do with this. Also, remember don't forget to send Trump money for his legal fees. Or is it all talk and no action?
plasticmonkey
Your sense of justice and jurisprudence is so enlightened.
Yrral
Bass4,the Federalist may control the Supreme Court,but lower branches has review
u_s__reamer
Funny how when most folk get arrested for crimes, their "intent" is immaterial. What they "believed" does not mitigate the result of their actions, unless it's a plea of insanity, which might even be Trump's last desperate recourse. Whatever, the one thing we can be sure of, judging from the 2 agonizing years of the DOJ's extra-soft, kid-glove treatment, Trump will be handled as no ordinary felon and, certainly won't be a poster boy for "nobody is above the law".
Bordeaux
Blacklabel's argument that Trump will not lose any of these cases stems from the GOP and its allies success at overturning the 202 election because if a former president and allies lost every single case (100%) to overturn the election then it will be also impossible to prove that Trump is a criminal.
Yrral
Most foreigner do not know about American law, because most Americans do not know about the legalese of how the law is written ,only a judge has the power to interpret a criminal Statue,a criminal conspiracy is to take step too facilitate the commission of a crime ,by entering an agreement to carry out said crime
2020hindsights
Blacklabel
He seems to be spending most of that money on lawyers. But look at the polling: the percentage of Republicans who think that Trump is guilty on the charges so far has surged.
Joe Biden has nothing to do with this indictment. Trump is being indicted by the DOJ.
Also, Joe has done nothing wrong, so he won't be indicted.
bass4funk
Sounds like Jack Smith has cracked that one. Testimonies from close associates like Giuliani and others should be able to prove this easily. The number of Trump's close associates who have flipped will bring him down.
Why are you targeting the Dems? Trump is being prosecuted by the DOJ. The Dems have got nothing to do with this.
Express sister
“Donald Trump is so stupid that he doesn’t know what’s going on at any given moment. That’s why I want him to be President. I am very smart.”
Express sister
Like when you argued that perjury is not a crime and that resisting arrest is actually a genius strategy
Dr Maybe
Chris Christie put it best: "Trump is a one-man crime wave."
Bordeaux
The Washington Post has taken a stab at identifying the six unnamed co-conspirators in the indictment of former Trump on four criminal counts related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
1) The identity of Trump's lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani as co-conspirator No. 1 is "clear from the document’s descriptions of that person’s actions," the Post writes. He is described as "an attorney who was willing to spread knowingly false claims."
2) Co-conspirator No. 2, described in the indictment as “an attorney who devised and attempted to implement a strategy to leverage the vice president’s ceremonial role overseeing the certification proceeding” is John Eastman, according to Eastman's own attorney.
3) Co-conspirator No. 3, "an attorney whose unfounded claims of election fraud Trump himself said sounded 'crazy,'" matches Trump surrogate Sidney Powell, the newspaper concludes.
4) Co-conspirator No. 4, described as a then-Justice Department official who “attempted to use the Justice Department to open sham election crime investigations," refers to the actions of Jeffrey Clark, the Post writes. In the waning days of the administration, Trump considered appointing Clark as attorney general in order to use the department to his advantage.
5) Co-conspirator No. 5, referred to in the indictment as a lawyer who sought to "submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding," appears to match Kenneth Chesebro, a Trump attorney who worked on the scheme to enact false presidential electors, the Post concludes.
The newspaper does not speculate on the identity of co-conspirator 6, "a political consultant who helped implement a plan to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors," according to the indictment.
Bordeaux
News update: This just gets better!
Bordeaux
and also today......
Former Vice President Mike Pence issued a statement following the news of Trump's latest indictment:
Bordeaux
Now some of the details from of the witnesses in this new indictment:
The indictment against Donald Trump released by the DOJ on Tuesday contains a number of new details, including emails and text messages sent by the former president and his alleged co-conspirators in the wake of the 2020 election, as well as some of the more vocal skeptics in Trump’s orbit.
>
yakyak
The American government will do everything in their power to distract the people, so they can continue their sinister plans.
2020hindsights
Bordeaux
Interesting. I wonder if Pence flipped... Not looking good for Trump with the rats fleeing the ship.
eric_japan
Next week when more dots are connected, particularly off shore accounts, just watch for more indictments against Trump. Just enough distraction from the REAL crimes going on in Washington.
dagon
All the Trump supporters, who coincidentally are the ones who talk about their wealth and successful investments and trumpet the virtues of capitalism, time to step up.
What is all your wealth worth if you do not use it to defend what you believe in?
stormcrow
Trump must not ever be allowed to run for president again.
Also, Trump must not be allowed to use Hitler’s playbook on the path to power.
Bordeaux
Like a previous poster mentioned:
Let's not forget the other Trump quote that has not aged well: 'Too honest'
'Intent' will be a lot easier to prove than people realize even though he is not being charged for 'intent.'
He is being charged with 'conspiracy' which is even easier to prove and overlaps with the other case in Georgia!
Oh, ooooooh!
Bordeaux
Nothing to flip! He just wants to be the safe alternative to moderate Republicans in the election!
Bob Fosse
Lol. No it wasn’t.
Ah_so
Black - do you really think that you are making a persuasive case for Trump?
Yes, the walls are closing in. Part of the walls closing in, the journey to conviction, is being charged with felonies.
The documents case is open and shut, with the cover up being the most serious.
But by far, the attempt to overthrow the election result is the most egregious crime, and one for which Trump is likely to be jailed for the rest of his life (or until a Republican sycophant is elected President). His guilt is barely in doubt, other than his presumed innocence - so much evidence of him trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power is available.
shirokuma
Mark Meadows…Chief of staff…flipped hard.
You know it’s bad when people in the room will testify against you.
Bordeaux
They will next look at the use of campaign funds and donations being redirected to family members, the Trump hotels, and his legal defense.
It will get interesting because now Jared and Ivanka will be sucked backed in. Jared has 2 billion reasons to be concerned. Unfortunately, this will also suck in poor Tiffany Trump AKA the 'Jane Brady' of the Trump family.
Where are the 'good ole Trump boys' in the General Lee to save the day?
eric_japan
left- I’m right
right- I’m right
both sides have many blinded by tribalism.
take the time to seriously study both sides and maybe you’ll realized we are all being played.
guilt on both sides, but seems obvious as to who is drunk on power and their agenda.
it’s not the right
lincolnman
Our MAGA-lawyers here all like to cite intent...they may want to re-think what they wish for given how many times Trump personally has incriminated himself...
Stormy payoff case: Trump's "black Sharpie signature" on the check...
The classified stash and steal case: "Wait a minute, let's see here. I just found, isn't that amazing?" Trump says. "Except it is like, highly confidential. Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this. This was done by the military and given to me. As president I could have declassified, but now I can't."
The Jan 6th insurrection case: "Can you believe I lost to this guy?"
The Georgia obstruction case: "I just want you to find 11,740 votes"....
MAGA-world grows more desperate and deranged with each new charge and indictment....
Just as in 2020, they'll seek solace within their far-right alt-reality media bubble....the one that told them Trump would win in 2020 in a "landslide"....
And then when reality intrudes on their fantasy, they lie, cheat, steal, and finally resort to violence...
No doubt the cycle will repeat itself when Trump is convicted on one or more of his over 100 charges...
The only difference is instead of a platform in DC, Trump will make his call for an insurrection from a cell at Leavenworth...
Ah_so
The danger is, if he doesn't run, another Republican candidate is more likely to be elected than Trump. He has fanatical devotion among a large number of GOP voters, but he repels many. He will lose to Biden. If another candidate wins, they will pardon him.
True. It's a dangerous game allowing him anywhere near the candidacy, despite what I said above.
Yrral
Eric,I have only one legal agenda,to see that every right crazy,that engage in a conspiracy to violate a citizen of the US right,is held accountable
UChosePoorly
Trump might want to relocate to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, or Russia while he still can.
Superlib
Let's watch him burn through another $40 million in legal fees. Trump fans, don't forget to donate. Your money is his money.
Express sister
They have long since abandoned any pretence of recognizing reality. For all the crowing about “postmodern neo-Marxism”, (which is a contradiction in terms since Marxism is an explicitly modernist philosophy) they are deeply into a postmodernist stance of “hey who even knows what’s real maaaan?”.
They believe that power should go to those with the strongest will. And what greater demonstration of their willpower than to completely ignore the reality of what is happening around them?
Conservatives hate reality because it does not align with their world view: that women should be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, that LGBTQ people should be forced back into the closet, and that those uppity minorities should Remember Their Place.
Ah_so
@eric_japan - this is pro-Trump gibberish masquerading as objective analysis. Trump very clearly tried to overthrow the election and hang onto power, denying the will of the American electorate. The "agenda" is to see justice done. No one is drunk on power.
NCIS Reruns
Don't forget Paraguay.
sunfunbun
Eric, take your own advice and seriously study.
If you get ALL the information and critically think what you wrote, you wouldn't come to the same simple conclusion of tribalism on both sides.
The right and Trump lies ubiquitously, and the right lies as their mode of operation. So, seriously study, you'll find that out.
Raw Beer
It seems the deep state is very worried about the next election. They are throwing everything at Trump...
Express sister
How’s the QAnon lunacy going for you?
cuddly
Donald Trump was indicted on Tuesday for his wide-ranging attempts to overturn the 2020 election, the third time in four months that the former U.S. president has been criminally charged even as he campaigns to regain the presidency next year.
Will vote for him again.
Christopher Mas Osan
-only a judge has the power to interpret a criminal.
Did you mean? a Judge interprets the law of the state with in the case the judge is presiding over?
Em, we have a system in America called Jury duty selection, and a Jury.
A judge is a lawyer nothing more.
I have actually been selected for Jury duty in Maryland when I was a younger lad. On a homicide case that was an open and shut case. We 12 voted unanimously. Guilty to Capital one murder. The convicted rots in prison today I am sure.
itsonlyrocknroll
The US judicial system, the strength of US electoral system, the robust US constitution.
Donald Trump was never for a moment be able to topple such a structure.
Trump charged over efforts to overturn 2020 election.
The premise of this headline simple does not make sense.
Trump made some alleged spurious comments, accusations, assertions, whether that amounts to conspiracy to..............
Trump and others organized fraudulent slates of electors in seven states, all of which he lost, to submit their votes to be counted and certified as official by Congress on Jan. 6, the indictment said
The indictment lays out numerous examples of Trump's election falsehoods and notes that close advisers, including senior intelligence officials, told him repeatedly that the election results were legitimate.
"These claims were false, and the defendant knew that they were false," prosecutors wrote.
Is a hell of a leap in a court of law.
There is a scatter gun approach in a vain hope that something must surely stick
What Trump is being handed is a platform to wreak political havoc, by the contention that the electorate is too stupid to ascertain right from wrong or fact from fiction.
Trump could and will use this a political persecution.
*Jimizo
This highly successful billionaire needs yet more money. These legal issues are very costly.
Donate again.
Christopher Mas Osan
Trump if convicted would be a Felon.
Does anyone know how many laws Trump is being accused of breaking on the Federal level?
Imagine what life would be like for Trump as a Felon if convicted? I do not think he would be welcomed in some of the circles he is known to rub elbows in. History in the making. Going to be interesting to say the least.
As my own government tears into the fabric of its own self. Rome fell.
itsonlyrocknroll
The timing of these indictments, and Trumps campaigns to regain the presidency next year.
You can see where this is heading to an even more politically toxic media circus.
The accusations that Biden could fail to retain the presidency if Trump is able to run.
Blacklabel
Yes, Trump is still able to run.
itsonlyrocknroll
How many charges something close to 40 when tallied.
Donald Trump is not remotely a competent politican, or a diplomate.
Yet the fear Trump could actually win US election 2024 is the stuff of nightmares, an extreme apocalyptic event.
Joe Biden government should have faith confidence to sell to the electorate at the ballot box there record in office
lincolnman
The "MAGA-Six"....who are they likely to be?
Rudy Giuliani, Jeffry Clark, John Eastman, Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro, plus one other; maybe Steve Bannon...
Anyone think these six will not turn on one another to save themselves from jail?
No way - Rudy has already flipped to save himself from a cell...now that the pressure is on them they will crack like the rotten eggs they are...
And to help them flip - just watch Trump's lawyers try to paint them as "rogue" giving Trump bad advice....
The whole spectacle will be one of all the rats turning on the head rat who turns on them...
Or in other words, a MAGA-cesspool...
Superlib
I want to see him at $100 million in legal fees, and I want his idiot supporters to pay for it.
Seems perfect.
TaiwanIsNotChina
So sinister that we just had a classified document dump with literally nothing of interest.
itsonlyrocknroll
Next Trump is bound to associate his plight and possible future incrassation politically to the suffering of The Count of Monte Cristo fighting political persecution and yes the next election from a prison cell.
Does the US need such a ludicrous scenario, the possibility of the next president of the US having to take office from Rikers Island
I know would never happen or would it?
itsonlyrocknroll
Next it will be Trump in the Iron mask. No kidding.
huberts2
And the co-conspirators will desperately seek to do plea deals, offering more evidence to the prosecutors.
Bordeaux
I do not think the sixth is Steve Bannon. His next day in court is coming without a plea deal.
I think the sixth witness is Roger Stone "the political consultant/Swinger"!
Ah_so
Not at all, if you've been following the case closely. There is very strong evidence that he attempted to overthrow the election in collusion with a group of others, such as John Eastman.
Had Pence played along with the scheme, there would have been a conditional crisis in response to the coup attempt.
Bordeaux
Nope!
Special counsel Jack Smith is probing whether Trump, Eastman or other allies broke laws in their bid to subvert the election, and he’s hauled in an astonishing string of high-level Trump aides and allies, including former Vice President Mike Pence, to testify before a grand jury. And a federal judge has already declared that Eastman and Trump likely joined a criminal conspiracy to subvert the 2020 election. But bar proceedings for Eastman has helped shine a public light on the shadowy orbit of lawyers who sought to aid his effort to cling to power.
Rudy Giuliani’s law license was suspended in Washington, D.C. after bar proceedings found him culpable for misconduct in his efforts to overturn Pennsylvania’s votes. Jenna Ellis admitted to making numerous false statements about election fraud during her own negotiations with Colorado bar authorities. And similar proceedings are pending against former Justice Department attorney Jeff Clark, who has been fighting to get federal courts to intervene in the process.
Blacklabel
well they did get some guy named Will Hurd and good ole Mike Pence to come out with statements of outrage. Somehow they beat Chris Christie to it. Expect him and that Asa guy and some of the other sad 1-2% vote getters to jump on this. But changes nothing and changes zero votes.
When is the 4th one now that the timeline is messed up?
Concerned Citizen
It will be interesting to watch this drama play out.
Will Biden and his camp succeed in taking out the only person who can get in their way at next year's election?
Or will Trump supporters, and even swing voters, get so fired up over these legal maneuvers on Trump that they come out in droves to vote Him in?
We shall see.
itsonlyrocknroll
Ah_so, far to close to the next US elections, the politics is oozing out of every orifice.
Trumps ignominy, or alleged conspiracy to commit insurrection, coup attempt, should have been opened and closed within eighteen months of 2020.
However no charges were never filed.
You can sense a possible cynical waiting game,
Coup attempt?
USA be subject to a coup attempt ,from a golfer with an alleged dodgy handicap and a man dressed up carried spear, with horns?
I have enjoyed films White House Down, and Olympus Has Fallen, neither depicted a fool dressed up carrying a spear with horns overturning or overthrowing an genuinely elected government.
Donald Trump is guilty of no more than being a poor loser, throwing toys of the table.
Humpty Dumpty have a great fall and should be treated as such.
jeancolmar
One can only hope that Trump gets the punishments he deserves. If this fails, the whole legal system will fall. The evil of Trump deserves the most severe punishments allow by law.
opheliajadefeldt
So, I wonder who will get the lead role in the Hollywood film about all of this, because it is bound to happen, and is probably being planned right now. Not being a film person I do not know any actors names, but they will have to get a big 'star' to do it. As for the man himself, he has been a lifelong failure, in business and finances, and has had 6/7 bankruptcies, but one thing he has never failed at is being a Conman, he is the very best at this and proves it every day.
Jimizo
I think you are understating the gravity of what he did.
His playing to the slowest kids in the class was extraordinarily dangerous.
It’s easy for people of average intelligence to dismiss his nonsense, but there were people who actually believed this idiocy and acted upon it.
wallace
It was Trump who leaked the information about his indictment.
wallace
Trump made a direct attack against democracy and wanted to overthrow the constitution.
itsonlyrocknroll
How this next US election will be played out on social media will need care thought.
No doubt.
I cannot believe or remotely accept the majority of the US electorate cannot be trusted to weight up there political economic well being enough to make a sound educated choice or judgement.