Donald Trump Indicted for Attempting to Overturn 2020 Election

[tbm3fan]

“She’s made clear already that Trump is not going to be treated any differently, nor should he be treated any differently, than any other defendant in her courtroom. Other defendants have jobs, but they have to come to court,” Eisen said.

“We don’t have two systems of law in the United States, one for presidential candidates, one for everybody else.”
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Damn right, finally...

[TopHatter]

Donald Trump faces revised US indictment in election subversion case


Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Trump holds rally in Glendale, Arizona

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Donald Trump was hit by a new federal indictment on Tuesday in his bid to overturn his 2020 election defeat, with prosecutors narrowing their approach after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that former presidents have broad immunity form criminal prosecution.

U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith's team obtained a new indictment in the Washington case.

The revised indictment lays out the same four charges it brought against the Republican former president last year focusing on Trump's role as a political candidate seeking reelection, rather than as the president at the time.

The Supreme Court ruled on July 1 that Trump cannot be prosecuted for actions that were within his constitutional powers as president.

Attorneys for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The revised indictment no longer includes allegations that Trump sought to pressure the U.S. Justice Department in his bid to overturn his election defeat, an apparent effort to keep the prosecution alive after the high court found that Trump could not be prosecuted for that conduct.

This indictment, like the initial one, accuses Trump of a multi-part conspiracy to block the certification of his election defeat to Democratic President Joe Biden.

Trump is again seeking election as the Republican candidate, this time in a race against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. The election takes place on Nov. 5 this year.

The case was presented to a new grand jury, one that had not heard evidence from the original case, said a Justice Department spokesman.

The new version of the indictment hinges on key testimony and evidence from witnesses largely outside the federal government, such as former Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, whom the indictment says was pressured by Trump and a co-conspirator to call a special session to hold a hearing based on bogus assertions of voter fraud.
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[TopHatter]

Trump says he had 'every right' to interfere in 2020 election


Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump participates in a fireside chat during the Moms for Liberty National "Joyful Warriors" Summit, in Washington, U.S., August 30, 2024.

WASHINGTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Republican former U.S. President Donald Trump, who faces federal and state charges accusing him of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democratic President Joe Biden, insists he had "every right" to interfere in that election.

"Whoever heard you get indicted for interfering with a presidential election where you have every right to do it?" Trump said in a Fox News interview that aired on Sunday.

A federal indictment accuses Trump of defrauding the U.S. by attempting to prevent Congress from certifying Biden's victory and deprive voters of their right to a fair election. He faced a revised federal indictment last month accusing him of illegally trying to overturn his 2020 election loss.

Trump's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 election results after weeks of false claims by Trump that he had won.

Trump faces similar charges in Fulton County, Georgia, where he was also charged with racketeering, which is used to target members of organized crime groups and carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

That case, which is on hold while a state appeals court weighs the district attorney's role, stems from a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call in which Trump urged Georgia's top election official, Brad Raffensperger, to "find" enough votes to reverse his narrow loss in the state. Raffensperger declined to do so.

Trump, who is the current Republican candidate for president, has not said whether he would unconditionally accept the results of the Nov. 5 election if his Democratic rival, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, wins.
In a statement on Monday, Harris' campaign said Trump's latest comments to Fox News and his previous remarks "make it clear that he believes he is above the law."

"Now, Trump is claiming he had 'every right' to interfere in the 2020 election. He did not," a Harris campaign spokesperson said in the statement.
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Time for Cult45 to say the Cult45 Prayer, yet again....

[TopHatter]

Trump’s Jan. 6 Case Resumes — Days After He Claimed A Right To ‘Interfere’ In The Election


An image of a mock gallows on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is shown as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing.

WASHINGTON ― A federal judge on Thursday is holding her first hearing in Donald Trump’s criminal case for his Jan. 6, 2021, coup attempt, following a Supreme Court ruling that gave the former president immunity for “official acts” — and just days after he claimed he had “every right” to do what he did.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan is expected to lay out a schedule for the revised indictment of Trump filed by special counsel Jack Smith last week.

The superseding indictment, as it is known, retains the four felony charges from the original 2023 case: conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstructing an official proceeding; and conspiracy to deprive millions of Americans of their right to have their votes counted.

It deletes references, though, to Trump’s attempts to coerce Department of Justice officials into falsely claiming that fraud had marred the 2020 election.

If convicted, Trump could receive decades in federal prison.

The Supreme Court ruled in July that a president has complete immunity from prosecution for “official” actions, including hiring and firing employees within the executive branch and demanding that they carry out certain instructions.

In a court filing accompanying the revised indictment, Smith wrote that he sought the new one to comply with the high court’s precedent-setting new guidance.

The morning hearing, which Trump is not expected to attend, comes just four days after Trump told Fox News’ Mark Levin: “Whoever heard — you get indicted for interfering with a presidential election, where you have every right to do it, and your poll numbers go up?”

After regaining control of the case last month, Chutkan immediately scheduled a status conference to hear how prosecutors and Trump’s lawyer envision going forward, in light of the Supreme Court immunity decision. The original Aug. 16 court date was postponed at Smith’s request.

The reason for the delay was unclear at the time, but now appears to have been because Smith was in the process of presenting the charges to a new federal grand jury ― presumably so that Trump cannot argue that the original, 2023 grand jury’s decision to indict him had been tainted by evidence that the Supreme Court subsequently said could not be used.

Trump will be officially arraigned on the revised indictment at Thursday’s hearing, although Chutkan granted his request to not attend it in person and to instead allow his lawyers to plead not guilty on his behalf.

In a filing last week, Smith said he is prepared to move forward quickly to reveal to Trump and to the court “additional unpled categories of evidence.” Smith intends to use this evidence to back up his argument that the new indictment does not intrude on any of Trump’s “official” actions as president, for which the Supreme Court ruled he can’t be prosecuted.

“The government is prepared to file its opening immunity brief promptly at any time the court deems appropriate,” Smith wrote in his section of the joint filing.

Trump’s lawyers, in contrast, wrote in their portion of the filing that they want to be able to put off their motion asking Chutkan to dismiss the case, based on the high court’s presidential immunity decision, until December.

That plan suggests they will argue that everything Trump is accused of doing in the revised indictment is “official” conduct protected by the Supreme Court’s ruling. Their proposed schedule foresees additional motions and hearings straight through the autumn of 2025, with no trial date in sight.

What’s more, Trump’s lawyers said that the GOP presidential nominee should be spared the “opprobrium” that comes with criminal court proceedings, and that decisions regarding immunity and their other planned motions to dismiss should be rendered “as a matter of law,” without consideration of any evidence.

A number of Trump’s former aides had testified last year, before the original grand jury, including former Vice President Mike Pence. If Chutkan holds an evidentiary hearing, they’d likely be called to testify again.

Trump’s lawyers made it clear they would oppose that. “The court should take every reasonable step possible to resolve the case on legal grounds, before permitting an invasive public inquiry regarding President Trump’s official conduct while in office,” John Lauro and Todd Blanche wrote.

Trump faces a second indictment based on his coup attempt in Georgia, as well. If convicted on the most serious felonies, he would face decades in state prison there.

A second, unrelated federal prosecution for his refusal to turn over secret documents he took with him to his South Florida country club upon leaving the White House was dismissed by the trial judge, but that ruling is currently under appeal with an appellate court in Atlanta.

Finally, Trump is scheduled to be sentenced in New York City on Sept. 18, after he was convicted on 34 felony counts in May for falsifying business records to hide a $130,000 hush money payment to a porn actor in the days ahead of the 2016 election. He could receive as much as four years in prison on those charges.

If Trump wins the presidency in November, he would almost certainly order his attorney general to dismiss the federal cases against him and would likely seek to postpone the state-level cases until he is no longer in office.
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