Special counsel reindicts Donald Trump, narrows allegations
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The news: Special counsel Jack Smith has filed a new criminal indictment against Donald Trump for resisting the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 presidential election, which will maintain the same criminal charges but narrows the allegations against him.
The context: The new indictment removes a section of the indictment that accused Trump of trying to use Justice Department law enforcement powers to overturn his election defeat, in line with the Supreme Court's ruling in July that Trump is immune from prosecution for some of the conduct included in Smith's original indictment last year.
The superseding indictment was filed three days ahead of a deadline for prosecutors and defence lawyers to tell the judge in the case how they wanted to proceed in light of the Supreme Court's ruling, which determined that former presidents are presumptively immune from prosecution for official White House acts.
The two sides will be back in court for a status hearing next week, after the case was effectively frozen since December as Trump’s immunity appeal progressed. The special counsel’s office said the updated indictment was issued by a grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in the case. It said in a statement that the indictment “reflects the Government’s efforts to respect and implement the Supreme Court’s holdings and remand instructions,” the Associated Press reported.
The new indictment maintains the four counts against Trump that he previously faced, including the allegation that Trump participated in a scheme to enlist fraudulent electors in battleground states won by his opponent Joe Biden who would falsely claim that Trump had won in those states, and that Trump sought to pressure Vice President Mike Pence to reject legitimate electoral votes.
The sources: Associated Press, Court Listener
