President Donald Trump has described as witch-hunting US prosecutors issuing new charges over his alleged attempts to interfere in the 2020 election after he lost to Joe Biden.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the new indictment was “an effort to resurrect a ‘dead’ Witch Hunt” and “distract the American People” from the election.
He called for it to be “dismissed IMMEDIATELY”.
The charges come in response to a US Supreme Court ruling last month that said Presidents enjoy broad immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts while in office.
The revised indictment lays out the same four criminal counts against Trump, but they now relate to his status as a political candidate rather than a sitting President.
Trump has denied the election interference allegations, though he has maintained his claim – without evidence – that there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.
The new indictment, brought by Department of Justice 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.
Trump has previously pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The former President’s personal lawyer – Todd Blanche – referred the BBC to the Trump campaign, which did not respond to a request for comment.
A source close to Trump’s legal team told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, that the new indictment “was not a surprise”.
“This is what the government is supposed to do based on what the Supreme Court did,” the source said. “It doesn’t change our position that we believe Smith’s case is flawed and it should be dismissed.”
The new charging document – which was slimmed down from 45 to 36 pages – re-works the language of the allegations and refines the ways it argues that the former President allegedly committed these crimes to comport with the Supreme Court’s ruling on Presidential immunity.
For example, the new indictment drops the claim that Trump tried to pressure justice department officials to work to overturn his defeat. The high court ruled that Trump’s direction to justice officials was not illegal.
The special counsel’s office explained the reason for the new indictment in a statement on Tuesday.
“The superseding indictment, which was presented to a new grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in this case, reflects the Government’s efforts to respect and implement the Supreme Court’s holdings and remand instructions in Trump v. United States,” the office said.
The justice department declined to comment further.
The new charging document argues that Trump acted as a private citizen – and not as President – when he undertook the alleged scheme to sway the election.
“The 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,” reads one new line in the indictment.
Both cases face uncertain futures after the Supreme Court’s landmark decision last month.
If Trump defeats Democrat Kamala Harris, he is widely expected to order the justice department to drop all the federal charges that he faces.
BBC
