DON IT AGAIN
Donald Trump indicted for the third time by grand jury as ex-president is charged for trying to overturn 2020 election
FORMER President Donald Trump has been indicted again - this time over his involvement in the events of January 6, 2021.
Prosecutor Jack Smith delivered remarks after a sealed indictment was delivered to a Washington D.C.-based judge containing four felony counts against the former president.
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Trump's involvement and efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election have been investigated, resulting in the indictment which included four criminal counts against him.
Among the charges against him are conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, conspiracy against rights, and obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding.
If found guilty of all four counts, Trump faces a maximum combined sentence of 55 years behind bars.
He is expected to be arraigned on Thursday in Washington D.C. district court in front of Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya.
The 45-page indictment also references six unnamed and unindicted co-conspirators.
"The Defendant and co-conspirators used knowingly false claims of election fraud to get state legislators and election officials to subvert the legitimate election results and change electoral votes for the Defendant's opponent, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., to electoral votes for the Defendant," the indictment stated.
US District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan has been assigned to the case.
TRUMP RESPONDS
Trump warned he was expecting the indictment on his Truth Social platform shortly before 5pm on Tuesday.
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"I hear that Deranged Jack Smith, in order to interfere with the Presidential Election of 2024, will be putting out yet another Fake Indictment of your favorite President, me, at 5pm," the former president wrote.
"Why didn’t they do this 2.5 years ago? Why did they wait so long? Because they wanted to put it right in the middle of my campaign."
Once confirmed, Trump's campaign released another statement on the platform bashing the indictment.
"This is nothing more than the latest corrupt chapter in the continued pathetic attempt by the Biden Crime Family and their weaponized Department of Justice to interfere with the 2024 Presidential Election, in which President Trump is the undisputed frontrunner, and leading by substantial margins," the statement read in part.
It went on to accuse President Joe Biden and the Department of Justice of attempting to interfere with the 2024 election, calling the indictment both "pathetic" and "reminiscent of Nazi Germany."
The note compared the "lawlessness of these persecutions" to multiple tyrannical regimes throughout history before going on to defend Trump's actions.
"President Trump has always followed the law and the constitution, with advice from many highly accomplished attorneys," the statement continued.
"These un-American witch-hunts will fail and President Trump will re-elected to the White House so he can save our country from the abuse, incompetence, and corruption that is running through the veins of our country at levels that have never been seen before."
The message ended with a note of confidence that Trump's bid for President will not be impacted.
"President Trump will not be deterred by disgraceful and unprecedented political targeting," it said.
Trump has denied his involvement in the events of January 6, 2021, which left five people dead and approximately 140 police officers injured as a hoard of his supporters stormed the Capitol Building.
More than 1,060 people have been charged in almost every state, with nearly 600 pleading guilty to federal charges, according to the Department of Justice.
'UNPRECEDENTED ASSAULT'
Prosecutor Jack Smith has been leading the investigation into the January 6, 2021, case.
Speaking to the press after Trump's indictment was delivered today, Smith said: "I encourage everyone to read it in full."
"The attack on our nation's capitol on January 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy."
He also hailed the first responders who defended the Capitol on January 6 as heroes.
"They are patriots and they are the very best of us," Smith said.
"They put their lives on the line to defend who we are as a country and as a people.
"Our investigation of other individuals continues," Smith concluded.
Trump revealed on July 18 that Smith sent him a letter "stating that I am a target of the January 6 grand jury investigation, and giving me a very short four days to report to the grand jury, which almost always means an arrest and an indictment," according to a Truth Social post.
PENCE RESPONDS
Former Vice President Mike Pence responded to the news with a statement of his own.
"Today's indictment serves as an important reminder: Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States," it began.
"I will have more to say about the government's case after reviewing the indictment."
He added that "the former president is entitled to the presumption of innocence but with this indictment, his candidacy means more talk about January 6 and more distractions."
"On January 6, Former President Trump demanded that I choose between him and the Constitution," he said. "I chose the Constitution and I always will."
Pence is considered to be a prime witness in the events of January 6, 2021, as he faced increasing pressure from Trump to not certify the 2020 election results.
OTHER INDICTMENTS
It comes as Trump faces federal charges in Florida stemming from his mishandling of classified docs after he left office.
He allegedly asked a staffer to delete camera footage at Mar-A-Lago following claims he illegally stashed hundreds of secret documents at the estate.
In June, Trump pleaded not guilty in Miami federal court to 37 felony counts against him.
He is set to face trial in May next year - just months before the 2024 presidential election.
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The frontrunner for the GOP 2024 nomination could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if he's found guilty of obstruction related to the security camera footage.
A spokesperson for the ex-president has branded the new charges as "nothing more than a continued desperate and flailing attempt" by the Biden administration "to harass President Trump and those around him" and to influence the 2024 presidential race.
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