Former US President Donald Trump was on Tuesday, indicted for the third time over his efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election. The federal investigation is the latest criminal case for Trump as he runs for the White House presidency in 2024. Trump however maintains that he is being targeted by Democrats who are trying to keep him from reclaiming the presidency and has denied any wrongdoing.
Special counsel Jack Smith, who indicted Trump in the election case, has also charged Trump in federal court with the illegal retention of top secret documents. In New York, Trump 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.
Charges against Donald Trump
The newest charges against Donald Trump include conspiracy to defraud the United States government and conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding, the congressional certification of President Joe Biden's victory. It further accuses of Trump repeatedly telling his supporters and others that he had won the election, despite knowing that was false, and how he tried to persuade state officials, his own vice president and finally Congress to overturn the legitimate results.
Due to the “dishonesty, fraud and deceit” by Trump and some of his closest allies, the indictment says, his supporters “violently attacked the Capitol and halted the proceeding.” In the attack, his supporters beat and injured police officers and broke through windows and doors, sending lawmakers running for their lives.
Accordingly, Trump has been asked to appear in the federal court in Washington on Thursday. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan.
Earlier charges
In what was a first federal case against a former president, Trump was charged by Smith in a federal case in Florida related to the mishandling of classified documents, including sensitive documents on nuclear capabilities. The 40 felony counts against him include charges of retaining classified information, obstructing justice and making false statements -- top charges carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
The case alleges that Trump repeatedly enlisted aides and lawyers to help him hide records demanded by investigators and cavalierly showed off a Pentagon “plan of attack” and classified map. A federal judge has set a trial date of May 20, 2024.
Trump also became the first former U.S. president in history to face criminal charges when he was indicted in New York in March on state charges stemming from hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to bury allegations of extramarital sexual encounters. He pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
For over two years, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating whether Trump and his allies illegally meddled in the 2020 election in Georgia. She has signaled that any indictments in the case will likely come this month.
