Donald Trump has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into efforts by the ex-president of the United States to overturn the 2020 election he lost. Trump was notified he had been indicted and announced he had been told he would be indicted at 5:00 PM Tuesday.
Trump was indicted on four criminal counts, according to MSNBC and NBC News.
The charges include: Conspiracy To Defraud The United States; Tampering With Witness, Victim, Or An Informant: Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding, and Conspiracy Against Rights Of Citizens.
This is the third criminal indictment for the Republican Party’s current leading candidate for the 2024 presidential nomination. Trump is the first president in U.S. history to be criminally charged, and is now also the first to be charged with efforts to attack American democracy.
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An indictment has been expected for months, but appeared even more likely two weeks ago when Trump announced his attorneys had received a letter from the Dept. of Justice informing them their client was a target of Smith’s investigation. Last Thursday Trump’s attorneys were notified they should expect their client would be indicted.
On Tuesday, former federal prosecutor, now MSNBC legal analyst Cynthia Alksne suggested the case is the most important in U.S. history.
“Trump’s actions literally imperiled American democracy,” said former Acting Solicitor General of the United States Neal Katyal on MSNBC Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s hard to think of a more serious charge than overthrowing the will of the people,” former FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann said on MSNBC earlier Tuesday.
That letter, NBC News reported, “mentions three federal statutes: deprivation of rights, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and witness tampering, two attorneys with knowledge of the document said.”
Smith’s grand jury last month also indicted Trump on 37 federal felony counts, 31 of which fall under the Espionage Act, over his alleged mishandling of classified documents. He is also facing a 34-count indictment by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg “for falsifying New York business records in order to conceal damaging information and unlawful activity from American voters before and after the 2016 election,” alleges Bragg. And later this month Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to ask a grand jury to return an in dcitment against Trump and multiple associates for their alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Some experts believe that possible indictment could include RICO, or racketeering, charges.
This is a breaking news and developing story. Details may change.