An NAJ screen shot of the front page of The New York Times website on this historic day, Aug. 1, 2023
By Glynn Wilson –
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Finally, the day has arrived and the Department of Justice has issued a formal indictment of former President Donald Trump for all his efforts to try to overturn the 2020 presidential election and cling to power after clearly losing to Joe Biden by millions of votes and in the Electoral College.
Donald Trump: NAJ screen shot
The indictment was filed by the special counsel Jack Smith in Federal District Court in Washington, according to breaking news from the New York Times.
It accuses Trump of three conspiracies to defraud the United States, to obstruct an official government proceeding and to deprive people of civil rights provided by federal law and the Constitution.
“Each of these conspiracies — which built on the widespread mistrust the defendant was creating through pervasive and destabilizing lies about election fraud — targeted a bedrock function of the United States federal government: the nation’s process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election,†the indictment reads.
It claims Trump had six co-conspirators, but does not name them.
The charges signify an extraordinary moment in United States history: a former president, in the midst of a campaign to return to the White House, being charged over attempts to use the levers of government power to subvert democracy and remain in office against the will of voters.
The indictment came more than two and a half years after a pro-Trump mob — egged on by incendiary speeches by Trump and his allies — stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in the worst attack on the seat of Congress since the War of 1812.
A federal grand jury returned the indictment a little more than eight months after Attorney General Merrick B. Garland appointed Smith, a career federal prosecutor, to oversee both the election tampering and classified documents inquiries into Trump. It came just over a year after a House select committee held high-profile hearings on the Jan. 6 attack and what led to it that laid out extensive evidence of Trump’s efforts to reverse the election results.
Garland moved to named Smith as special counsel just days after Trump declared that he was running for president again.
Trump now faces two separate federal indictments. In June, Smith brought charges in Florida accusing Trump — the current front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination — of illegally holding on to a highly sensitive trove of national defense documents and then obstructing the government’s attempts to get them back. He is scheduled to go on trial in that case in May.
The scheme charged by Smith on Tuesday in the election case played out largely in the two months between Election Day in 2020 and the attack on the Capitol. During that period, Trump took part in a range of efforts to retain power despite having lost the presidential race to Biden.
Trump is expected to show up in person for his arraignment in Federal District Court in Washington on Thursday.
In addition to federal charges in the election and documents cases, Trump also faces legal troubles in state courts.
He has been charged by the Manhattan district attorney’s office in a case that centers on hush money payments made to the porn star Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 election.
The efforts by Trump and his allies to reverse his election loss are also the focus of a separate investigation by the district attorney in Fulton County, Ga. That inquiry appears likely to generate charges this month.
___
If you support truth in reporting with no paywall, and fearless writing with no popup ads or sponsored content, consider making a contribution today with GoFundMe or Patreon or PayPal. We just tell it like it is, no sensational clickbait or pretentious BS.
Related Posts:
Before you continue, I’d like to ask if you could support our independent journalism as we head into one of the most critical news periods of our time in 2024.
The New American Journal is deeply dedicated to uncovering the escalating threats to our democracy and holding those in power accountable. With a turbulent presidential race and the possibility of an even more extreme Trump presidency on the horizon, the need for independent, credible journalism that emphasizes the importance of the upcoming election for our nation and planet has never been greater.
However, a small group of billionaire owners control a significant portion of the information that reaches the public. We are different. We don’t have a billionaire owner or shareholders. Our journalism is created to serve the public interest, not to generate profit. Unlike much of the U.S. media, which often falls into the trap of false equivalence in the name of neutrality, we strive to highlight the lies of powerful individuals and institutions, showing how misinformation and demagoguery can harm democracy.
Our journalists provide context, investigate, and bring to light the critical stories of our time, from election integrity threats to the worsening climate crisis and complex international conflicts. As a news organization with a strong voice, we offer a unique, outsider perspective that is often missing in American media.
Thanks to our unique reader-supported model, you can access the New American journal without encountering a paywall. This is possible because of readers like you. Your support keeps us independent, free from external influences, and accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for news.
Please help if you can.
American journalists need your help more than ever as forces amass against the free press and democracy itself. We must not let the crypto-fascists and the AI bots take over.
See the latest GoFundMe campaign here or click on this image.
Don't forget to listen to the new song and video.
Just because we are not featured on cable TV news talk shows, or TikTok videos, does not mean we are not getting out there in search engines and social media sites. We consistently get over a million hits a month.
Click to Advertise Here
