Trump Indicted Over Efforts to Overturn 2020 Election
“The special counsel, Jack Smith, has led a wide-ranging Justice Department examination of the efforts by former President Donald J. Trump and his allies to subvert the will of voters in 2020.
Pinned
Former President Donald J. Trump was indicted on Tuesday in connection with his widespread efforts to overturn the 2020 election, the first criminal charges to emerge from a sprawling federal investigation into Mr. Trump’s attempts to cling to power after losing the presidency to Joseph R. Biden Jr.
The indictment, filed by the special counsel Jack Smith in Federal District Court in Washington, accused Mr. Trump of a conspiracy to defraud the United States, a conspiracy to threaten the rights of others, a conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding before Congress and obstruction of an official proceeding.
This is developing. Check back for updates.
An indictment, whether it is handed up in federal or state court, is a formal accusation — not a conviction — and it is among the first moves a prosecutor can make to bring a case to trial.
When a person is indicted in a criminal court in the United States, it means that a grand jury composed of residents chosen at random believed there was enough evidence to charge that person with a crime. Such panels, generally convened by judges at the request of prosecutors, meet for weeks, and can hear evidence in a variety of cases. The judge is not present during grand jury proceedings after the jurors are chosen, and jurors are able to ask the witnesses questions.
Former President Donald J. Trump faces a host of investigations, at both the state and federal levels, into matters related to his business and political careers.
He had been indicted in two cases, including on federal criminal charges as part of the special counsel’s investigation into Mr. Trump’s handling of classified documents and whether he obstructed the government’s efforts to recover them after he left office.“
No comments:
Post a Comment