{"id":28236,"date":"2024-08-29T05:27:57","date_gmt":"2024-08-29T09:27:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=28236"},"modified":"2024-08-29T05:27:57","modified_gmt":"2024-08-29T09:27:57","slug":"trump-faces-revised-2020-election-interference-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2024\/08\/29\/trump-faces-revised-2020-election-interference-charges\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump faces revised 2020 election interference charges"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b class=\"ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">US prosecutors have issued revised charges against Donald Trump for the former president&#8217;s alleged attempts to interfere in the 2020 election after losing the contest.<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The updated wording tries to navigate a Supreme Court ruling that presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts. The ruling had thrown this case into doubt.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Trump denies accusations that he pressured officials to reverse the results, knowingly spread lies about election fraud and sought to exploit a riot at the US Capitol to delay the certification of Joe Biden&#8217;s victory.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">It appears unlikely the case &#8211; and other criminal cases he faces &#8211; will reach court before the next election on 5 November.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The revised indictment, brought by Department of Justice (DoJ) Special Counsel Jack Smith, leaves in place the four crimes Trump is accused of committing: conspiracy to defraud the US, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, attempting to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">But these now relate to Trump&#8217;s status as a political candidate rather than a sitting president.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1o5f7ft-BulletListContainer e5tfeyi0\">\n<ul role=\"list\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><a class=\"ssrcss-f6h2dj-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/czrrv8yg3nvo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trump has partial immunity from prosecution, Supreme Court rules<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Trump has previously pleaded not guilty to all charges.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">He wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform that the fresh indictment was &#8220;an effort to resurrect a &#8216;dead&#8217; Witch Hunt&#8221; and &#8220;distract the American People&#8221; from this year&#8217;s election. He called for it to be &#8220;dismissed IMMEDIATELY&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">His campaign has not responded to a BBC request for comment. But a source close to his legal team told CBS News, the BBC&#8217;s US partner, the second indictment &#8220;was not a surprise&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;This is what the government is supposed to do based on what the Supreme Court did,&#8221; the source said. &#8220;It doesn&#8217;t change our position that we believe Smith&#8217;s case is flawed and it should be dismissed.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"19209213\" class=\"ssrcss-vwy109-FlourishContainer eockrme0\" data-component=\"embed-flourish-block\">\n<div data-component=\"include-html\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Interactive or visual content\" src=\"https:\/\/flo.uri.sh\/visualisation\/19209213\/embed?auto=1\" width=\"700\" height=\"575\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-19w8cxh-ComponentWrapper-HeadlineComponentWrapper egtrm1f0\" data-component=\"subheadline-block\">\n<h2 tabindex=\"-1\"><\/h2>\n<h2 id=\"Whats-changed-and-what-hasnt\" class=\"ssrcss-pbttu9-Heading e10rt3ze0\" tabindex=\"-1\"><span role=\"text\">What&#8217;s changed &#8211; and what hasn&#8217;t?<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The new charging document &#8211; which was slimmed down from 45 to 36 pages &#8211; re-works the language of the allegations to respond to last month&#8217;s ruling on presidential immunity by the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">It argues Trump acted as a private citizen &#8211; and not as president &#8211; when he undertook the alleged scheme to sway the election.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">\u201cThe defendant had no official responsibilities related to the certification proceeding, but he did have a personal interest as a candidate in being named the winner of the election,\u201d reads one new line in the indictment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Another new line refers to a lawsuit filed by Trump&#8217;s campaign in Georgia. The old language said the suit was \u201cfiled in his name\u201d, but the updated indictment says it was \u201cfiled in his capacity as a candidate for president\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The new document also appears to have removed the charges against Jeffrey Clark &#8211; a former DoJ official who played a key role in the so-called fake electors scheme, according to prosecutors. Mr Clark was not named in either indictment, but has been identified in the media through public records.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The fresh indictment also drops the claim that Trump tried to pressure DoJ officials to work to overturn his defeat. The high court ruled Trump&#8217;s direction to justice officials was not illegal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The special counsel&#8217;s office said the superseding indictment had been presented to a new grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in the case.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">A grand jury is set up by a prosecutor to determine whether there is enough evidence to pursue a prosecution.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1o5f7ft-BulletListContainer e5tfeyi0\">\n<ul role=\"list\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><a class=\"ssrcss-f6h2dj-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-40823390Rea\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read more: What does a grand jury do?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The new indictment leaves in place several key allegations against Trump, including that he attempted to persuade Vice-President Mike Pence to obstruct Mr Biden\u2019s election certification.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">That is despite the fact that conversations between Trump and Mr Pence would probably fall under the category of &#8220;official&#8221; acts, for which Trump has immunity from prosecution, according to the Supreme Court ruling.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The revised indictment showed that Mr Smith interpreted the Supreme Court ruling to mean that his case could still move forward, said Prof Daniel Richman, a constitutional law expert at Columbia Law School.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">But whether it would satisfy the Supreme Court&#8217;s presidential immunity framework remained unclear, Prof Richman told the BBC. &#8220;The court was painfully vague as to what private conduct done by a president can be charged criminally,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-xza2yt-ComponentWrapper ep2nwvo1\" data-component=\"image-block\">\n<figure class=\"ssrcss-1vfya96-StyledFigure e34k3c22\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21\"><span class=\"ssrcss-bndjmu-Placeholder etlorgc0\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/6341\/live\/78a21c20-6525-11ef-b43e-6916dcba5cbf.jpg.webp 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/6341\/live\/78a21c20-6525-11ef-b43e-6916dcba5cbf.jpg.webp 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/6341\/live\/78a21c20-6525-11ef-b43e-6916dcba5cbf.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/6341\/live\/78a21c20-6525-11ef-b43e-6916dcba5cbf.jpg.webp 624w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/6341\/live\/78a21c20-6525-11ef-b43e-6916dcba5cbf.jpg.webp 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/976\/cpsprodpb\/6341\/live\/78a21c20-6525-11ef-b43e-6916dcba5cbf.jpg.webp 976w\" type=\"image\/webp\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ssrcss-11yxrdo-Image edrdn950\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/999\/cpsprodpb\/6341\/live\/78a21c20-6525-11ef-b43e-6916dcba5cbf.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/6341\/live\/78a21c20-6525-11ef-b43e-6916dcba5cbf.jpg 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/6341\/live\/78a21c20-6525-11ef-b43e-6916dcba5cbf.jpg 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/6341\/live\/78a21c20-6525-11ef-b43e-6916dcba5cbf.jpg 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/6341\/live\/78a21c20-6525-11ef-b43e-6916dcba5cbf.jpg 624w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/6341\/live\/78a21c20-6525-11ef-b43e-6916dcba5cbf.jpg 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/976\/cpsprodpb\/6341\/live\/78a21c20-6525-11ef-b43e-6916dcba5cbf.jpg 976w\" alt=\"Rioters scale a wall at the US Capitol building\" width=\"999\" height=\"562.4369999999999\" \/><\/picture><\/span>Trump is accused of trying to thwart Joe Biden&#8217;s victory at the last election &#8211; including by exploiting a riot at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 (Image: Reuters)<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-19w8cxh-ComponentWrapper-HeadlineComponentWrapper egtrm1f0\" data-component=\"subheadline-block\">\n<h2 tabindex=\"-1\"><\/h2>\n<h2 id=\"Trumps-other-legal-issues\" class=\"ssrcss-pbttu9-Heading e10rt3ze0\" tabindex=\"-1\"><span role=\"text\">Trump&#8217;s other legal issues<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The revised indictment would not necessarily expedite the case, Prof Richman said. He doubted it would be heard before the 2024 election.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The CBS News source close to Trump&#8217;s legal team said the former president&#8217;s lawyers would ask for more time to prepare for the case. They said this would likely delay the start of the trial if the judge agreed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">This case came together after Mr Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022 to oversee two federal investigations into Trump: the election interference case and another case in which the ex-president has been accused of taking\u00a0<b class=\"ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">classified documents<\/b>\u00a0back to his Florida home after leaving office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">On Monday, Mr Smith\u2019s team appealed against the decision of a Florida judge to dismiss the latter case. Judge Aileen Cannon had done so on the grounds that the mere existence of special counsels violated the US Constitution.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Mr Smith argued the judge&#8217;s view &#8220;deviated&#8221; from legal precedent.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1o5f7ft-BulletListContainer e5tfeyi0\">\n<ul role=\"list\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><a class=\"ssrcss-f6h2dj-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-61084161\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A guide to Trump&#8217;s criminal cases<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Both cases face uncertain futures after the Supreme Court\u2019s landmark decision.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The same is true of\u00a0<b class=\"ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">a separate case in Georgia<\/b>, in which Trump and 18 other defendants are also accused of criminally conspiring to overturn his narrow defeat in 2020. He has pleaded not guilty, and a trial date has not been set.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Meanwhile, Trump awaits sentencing after being convicted in New York in May of\u00a0<b class=\"ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">falsifying business records<\/b>\u00a0to cover up hush money payments made to a porn star.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">If Trump defeats Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in November, he is widely expected to order officials to drop all the remaining federal charges that he faces.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/czdpq4en1vvo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\">US prosecutors have issued revised charges against Donald Trump for the former president&#8217;s alleged attempts to interfere in the 2020 election after losing the contest. The updated wording tries to navigate a Supreme Court ruling <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2024\/08\/29\/trump-faces-revised-2020-election-interference-charges\/\" title=\"Trump faces revised 2020 election interference charges\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[109,2,3],"tags":[285,9512,7547,8164],"class_list":{"0":"post-28236","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headline","8":"category-news","9":"category-usa","10":"tag-donald-trump","11":"tag-indictments-of-donald-trump","12":"tag-us-capitol-riots","13":"tag-us-election-2020","14":"pmpro-has-access"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28236"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28237,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28236\/revisions\/28237"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}