Donald Trump faces new US indictment in 2020 election subversion case
Donald Trump has angrily reacted after a grand jury gave the green light to criminal charges over his effort to overturn the 2020 election results.
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A grand jury has given the green light to criminal charges against Donald Trump over the former president’s effort to overturn his 2020 election defeat, reviving the case against him just weeks before Americans decide whether he should return to power.
The election subversion case against the former US president appeared doomed last month when the Supreme Court ruled that presidents were immune from criminal prosecution for official acts carried out from the Oval Office.
But special counsel Jack Smith – who was appointed by the Department of Justice to independently investigate the Republican candidate for November’s election – slapped Mr Trump with a revised set of charges on Tuesday (local time).
In a court filing, he said a federal grand jury in Washington DC had approved the charges.
“The superseding indictment, which was presented to a new grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in this case, reflects the government’s effort to respect and implement the Supreme Court’s holdings and remand instructions,” Mr Smith said.
He indicated Mr Trump would not be required to appear in court to be arraigned again.
The move comes just 10 days before the Justice Department’s “60-day rule” – which essentially blocks any new charges against presidential candidates during the final two months of the election campaign – kicks in.
The superseding indictment hits Mr Trump with the same charges that were laid against him last year, but it leaves out some allegations in an effort to comply with the Supreme Court’s historic ruling, including his use of the Justice Department to promote election fraud claims.
It also argues that Mr Trump did not have any official presidential duties assigned by the constitution in the post-election transition of power.
“For more than two months following election day on November 3, 2020, the defendant spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that he had actually won,” Mr Smith alleged.
“These claims were false, and the defendant knew that they were false.”
“But the defendant used his campaign to repeat and widely disseminate them anyway – to make his knowingly false claims appear legitimate, create an intense national atmosphere of mistrust and anger, and erode public faith in the administration of the election.”
The charges include allegations that Mr Trump sought to block Congress’s certification of President Joe Biden’s victory on January 6, 2021, fuelling the deadly riot at the US Capitol.
The case – perhaps the most damaging of the unprecedented four sets of criminal charges laid against the former president – had ground to a halt as Mr Trump sought to claim legal immunity for his actions. If he defeats Vice President Kamala Harris in November, he could instruct the Department of Justice to drop the case against him.
In a social media post, Mr Trump said the “ridiculous new indictment” was an “act of desperation” by Mr Smith that “should be dismissed IMMEDIATELY”.
“What they are doing now is the single greatest sabotage of our democracy in our history,” he fumed, as he doubled down on his baseless claim that his opponents “cheated on the election” in 2020.
“This is an unprecedented abuse of the criminal justice system ... They are the ones that did the obstructing of the election, not me.”
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FIRST RIOTER TO ENTER US CAPITOL SENTENCED TO 53 MONTHS
A Kentucky man who was the first rioter to enter the US Capitol during the January 6, 2021, attack on Congress by Donald Trump supporters has been sentenced to 53 months in prison.
Michael Sparks, 46, a factory supervisor, was convicted in March of civil disorder and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building.
Prosecutors had sought a sentence of 57 months while Mr Sparks’s defence attorneys asked that he be given 12 months of home detention.
District Judge Timothy Kelly sentenced Sparks to 53 months in prison.
In their sentencing memorandum, prosecutors said Mr Sparks was “the very first rioter to enter the United States Capitol building” and “helped light the fire that day.”
Mr Sparks jumped through a broken window, they said, “ignoring the warnings of the rioters behind him and the pepper spray (from US Capitol police) that hit him squarely in the face.”
Capitol police sergeant Victor Nichols, testifying at Mr Sparks’s trial in Washington, said he “acted like a green light for everybody behind him, and everyone followed right behind him.”
Nearly 1500 people have been charged for their roles in the storming of Congress by supporters of former Republican Mr Trump.
David Dempsey, 37, of Santa Ana, California, described by prosecutors as one of the “most violent” members of the mob, was sentenced to 20 years in prison this month.
The sentence was the second longest handed down so far.
Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right Proud Boys group, was convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 22 years in prison.
The assault on the Capitol left at least five people dead and 140 police officers injured.
It followed a fiery speech by Trump to supporters near the White House in which he repeated his false claims that he won the 2020 election.
TRUMP REVEALS TOP JOBS FOR RFK JR, GABBARD
Donald Trump has added former Democrats Robert F Kennedy Jr and Tulsi Gabbard to his White House transition team after their surprise endorsements.
After a boost in the polls from their high-profile defections, the two were announced as honorary co-chairs of the team to select the policies and personnel of a second Trump administration.
The major appointments that would shape a future White House come as Mr Trump seeks to build momentum among undecided voters following last week’s DNC.
Campaign senior advisor Brian Hughes said the addition of two former presidential candidates broadens their coalition of supports “across partisan lines”.
Mr Kennedy, who ran as a Democrat before changing to an Independent, said he would “help pick the people who will be running the government”.
“I’m going to work to get him elected, and we’re working with the campaign, we’re working on policy issues together,” he told Tucker Carlson.
He added that he would run as director of the CIA, but that he would never get confirmed by the USN Senate.
“I would be very dangerous for those committees,” he said.
Ms Gabbard, who ran as a Democrat in the 2020 presidential primary, has also been helping Mr Trump prepare for his debate against Kamala Harris, scheduled for September but in doubt over proposed rule changes.
Mr Hughes said the Trump campaign was “proud” to have the two former Democrats and self-identified independents on their team
“We look forward to having their powerful voices on the team as we work to restore America’s greatness,” he added.
The transition team also includes vice presidential candidate JD Vance, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, and Linda McMahon, wife of WWE founder Vince McMahon.
A source close to the campaign added to the New York Post that Mr Kennedy and Ms Gabbard will be focusing on the critical battleground states.
“Expect both RFK Jr. and Tulsi to be very active on the campaign trail for Trump over the next two months. These weren’t just fleeting endorsements, they’re both fully on the team and will be utilized in battleground states regularly,” the source said.
Speculation continues to swirl of more high-profile Democrats defecting to join the Trump campaign, with Congressman Dean Phillips, the only challenger to Joe Biden in the Democratic primary, saying he’d serve in either a Harris or Trump administration.
“If there is a way to serve my country in a Democratic administration -- in a Republican administration -- my goodness, we should all stand up and accept that invitation whenever it is issued,” he told Fox News Digital. “So, you never know.”
RFK JR EXIT GIVES TRUMP A BOOST
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are neck and neck in a new poll that indicates Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s exit from the White House race slightly benefits the Republican.
Mr Trump has a narrow advantage in a one-on-one match-up of 49 per cent to 48 per cent over Ms Harris, according to an Echelon Insights survey conducted after the Democratic National Convention.
However, Ms Harris came out on top, 47 per cent to 45 per cent, when third-party candidates were added to the mix, the New York Post reports.
Mr Kennedy, who has suspended his campaign and is now backing Mr Trump, gained 4 per cent support, with Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Libertarian Chase Oliver each at 1 per cent.
Mr Trump’s team has been hoping that Mr Kennedy’s so-called “suspending” of his campaign, as well as withdrawal from the ballot in about 10 competitive states, could give him a boost.
Mr Kennedy is set to remain on the ballot in a number of less competitive states.
It came as Hollywood star Billy Baldwin slammed Mr Kennedy, accusing him of selling his political soul for supporting Mr Trump.
In a lengthy post on X, the younger brother of fellow actor Alec Baldwin said that he had known Mr Kennedy for decades.
“We were friends,” Baldwin wrote. “I loved his politics. His speeches inspired me. We were neighbours. Our kids were friends. We carpooled the kids to school for a few years.”
But now the actor said he has “completely” disavowed Mr Kennedy, the son of Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of John F. Kennedy.
Baldwins said his actions were the “desperate move of a man who had presidential ambitions but saw the door rapidly closing on the opportunity for him to hold any political office”.
The star described Mr Kennedy’s endorsement of Trump as “not only a betrayal of the values and traditions of the Kennedy family” but also an act of “political cowardice”.
“He has sold his political soul and desecrated the historic work and legacy of his father … and his uncle,” Baldwin said.
Baldwin’s comments echo the sentiments of five of Mr Kennedy’s siblings, who in a joint statement recently said his endorsement of Mr Trump betrayed their father’s family values.
TOP DEMOCRAT ENDORSES DONALD TRUMP
Former top Democrat Tulsi Gabbard endorsed Mr Trump in a second high-profile defection to the former president’s “unity ticket” following Mr Kennedy.
Ms Gabbard, a former Congresswoman, vice chair of the DNC and the presidential candidate who forced Kamala Harris out of the 2020 election primaries, said Mr Trump will walk the world back from the brink of all-out war.
“This administration has us facing multiple wars on multiple fronts in regions around the world and closer to the brink of nuclear war than we ever have been before,” she said.
“This is one of the main reasons I am committed to doing all that I can to send President
Trump back to the White House where he can once again serve as our commander-in-chief.”
Ms Gabbard’s endorsement comes just days after Mr Kennedy suspended his campaign to back Mr Trump.
The former National Guard Lt Colonel National, who deployed to Iraq, joined the former president at a wreath-laying ceremony to mark the third anniversary of the 13 Americans being killed during the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
She said Mr Trump “understands the grave responsibility that a president and commander in chief bears for every single one of our lives”.
“We saw this through his first term in the presidency when he not only didn’t start any new wars, he took action to de-escalate and prevent wars,” she told the National Guard Association of the United States’ 146th General Conference.
“The same cannot be said about Kamala Harris. In fact the opposite is true and we are living this reality today.”
FOO FIGHTERS BLAST TRUMP
Music superstar Dave Grohl has blasted Donald Trump for using one of his most famous songs at a rally, saying any royalties earned will be donated to Kamala Harris’ campaign.
The drama was sparked when the former US president played the Foo Fighters’ 1997 song My Hero at his Arizona rally as he welcomed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the stage.
Mr Trump’s glowing tribute came after the independent candidate announced he was suspending his campaign and endorsing Mr Trump.
The Foo Fighters issued a statement to Billboard in response to the drama, saying they had not given permission for the song to be used.
“Foo Fighters were not asked permission, and if they were, they would not have granted it, ” the statement said.
The statement said “appropriate actions are being taken” and that the royalties received would be donated to Ms Harris’ campaign.
In response to a question if the band had let Mr Trump use the song, the Foo Fighters’ account on X simply replied, “No”.
The account then shared the exchange, adding: “Let us be clear.”
It is not the first time Mr Trump has angered artists by using their songs without permission. Earlier this month, superstar Beyonce threatened to send Mr Trump a cease-and-desist after his spokesman Steven Cheung used her song in a clip posted to social media.
Other artists have been angered by Mr Trump’s use of their music without permission including Celine Dion and Phil Collins.
The estates of late artists such as Sinead O’Connor, Isaac Hayes and Tom Petty have also reacted angrily.
Originally published as Donald Trump faces new US indictment in 2020 election subversion case
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