Revised Indictment Filed in Trump's Election Interference Case
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a second indictment charging Trump with attempts to overturn the 2020 election. The new indictment avoids arguments that were invalidated by the Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling in July.
The Details: The four charges against Trump remain the same, but the new indictment no longer includes alleged actions which could be claimed to fall under presidential purview, such as pressuring the Department of Justice. The prosecution will instead focus on actions Trump took as a candidate for reelection and feature testimony from witnesses outside the federal government.
Key Quotes:
- The indictment accuses Trump of having "used his Campaign to repeat and widely disseminate [lies about election fraud]... 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."
- "Jack Smith has brought a ridiculous new Indictment against me, which has all the problems of the old Indictment, and should be dismissed IMMEDIATELY... This is merely an attempt to INTERFERE WITH THE ELECTION, and distract the American People from the catastrophes Kamala Harris has inflicted on our Nation," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
How the Media Covered It: While many left and center outlets jumped on the news, only a few right-biased outlets devoted original reporting to the story in the hours after it broke; many instead syndicated a piece by the Associated Press (Lean Left bias). Sources across the bias specrum stuck closely to the facts in intiial reporting. USA Today (Lean Left bias) named each of Trump's co-conspirators and delved into their alleged actions.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
Donald Trump faces new indictment in Jan. 6 Capitol riot case after Supreme Court immunity rulingWASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith filed a superseding indictment against former President Donald Trump Tuesday in a bid to bolster one of two criminal cases against the Republican nominee following the Supreme Court’s landmark presidential immunity decision last month.
Trump, 78, remains charged with the same four counts unveiled last August in connection with his bid to overturn his 2020 election defeat by Joe Biden, but Smith’s team retooled some of their arguments to comply with the high court’s determination that the 45th president enjoys “absolute” immunity from prosecution for certain official acts.
From the Left
New Donald Trump federal election interference indictment aims to satisfy Supreme CourtWASHINGTON – The prosecutor in former President Donald Trump’s federal election interference case secured a new indictment against Trump Tuesday. The new superseding indictment is intended to deal with the Supreme Court’s decision in July that Trump had broad immunity from charges relating to official acts as president.
The new indictment basically sought to distinguish Trump's private actions, which could face charges, from public duties, which would be immune from prosecution. For example, the indictment alleged his false statements about election fraud in social media posts and during his speech near the White House on Jan....
From the Center
US brings new indictment against Trump in election subversion caseWASHINGTON, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Donald Trump faced a revised federal indictment on Tuesday accusing him of illegally trying to overturn his 2020 election loss, with prosecutors narrowing their approach after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that former presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution.
U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith's team obtained the superseding indictment in the Washington case, though it was highly unlikely to proceed to trial ahead of the Nov. 5 election when the Republican Trump faces Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
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