New indictment against Trump in election interference case after presidential immunity ruling

Aug. 28, 2024, 2:25 a.m.

Read time estimation: 3 minutes.

  2

Former President Donald Trump was presented with a revised federal indictment on Tuesday, outlining accusations that he sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election through illegal means.

While the charges are similar to previous allegations, they have been modified following a recent Supreme Court decision that provides extensive legal protections to former presidents against criminal charges for official actions during their presidency.

The updated indictment, which continues to allege a multi-part conspiracy to block the certification of Trump’s election defeat, now centers on his actions as a political candidate rather than his role as president at the time.

Advertisement The Supreme Court’s July 1 decision, which suggests Trump is presumptively immune from prosecution for actions within his constitutional powers as president, led prosecutors to revise their approach.

Focus on Trump’s actions as a candidate

Significantly, the revised indictment removes previous allegations that Trump attempted to pressure the US Justice Department to overturn the election results, as the Supreme Court ruled that Trump could not be prosecuted for such actions.

The indictment still includes accusations that Trump urged then-Vice President Mike Pence to utilize his authority during the congressional certification process on January 6, 2021, to reject electoral votes from crucial swing states.

The indictment also heavily relies on testimony from individuals outside the federal government, such as former Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, who reportedly faced pressure from Trump and a co-conspirator to hold a special legislative session based on unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.

Trump’s response

In response, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to call the new indictment a witch hunt and an attempt to interfere with the elections. He said the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling should lead to the entire case being thrown out, saying, “Smith rewrote the exact same case in an effort to circumvent the Supreme Court Decision.”

Trump has maintained his innocence regarding the initial charges, claiming they are politically motivated efforts to hinder his return to office.

US District Judge Tanya Chutkan is expected to rule in the coming weeks on which aspects of the case might be dismissed due to the Supreme Court’s immunity decision.

Advertisement With inputs from agencies