In a ritual that is no less amazing for being repeated, police officers are expected to receive Trump and declare him formally arrested. Next, the former president will plead not guilty before the judge, who will release him to return to the campaign in which he hopes to regain the White House in 2024.
Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday formally filed four criminal charges against Trump related to his efforts to overturn his election defeat, which culminated in the January 6, 2021 insurrection on Capitol Hill. The charges, which include conspiracy to defraud the government and conspiracy to obstruct an official process, could get him years in prison if convicted.
The police erected barricades and took other tight security measures around the court.
The former Republican president is the only defendant in the case, although prosecutors named — without identifying them — six conspirators, mostly lawyers, in a scheme to procure fake voters in seven battleground states where Democrat Joe Biden prevailed to submit false certificates. to the federal government.
The indictment details how Trump and his allies repeatedly lied about the results in the two months after the election and pressured Vice President Mike Pence and election officials to take steps to help him cling to power.
This is the third criminal charge brought against Trump in the past six months.
He is charged in New York with falsifying company documents in connection with paying bribes to silence a porn actress during the 2016 election campaign. Smith’s office accused him of illegally withholding secret documents at his Mar-a-residence. Lake, in Florida. In both cases he pleaded not guilty and will go to trial next year.
In addition, the Fulton County, Georgia, prosecutor’s office will present the results of its investigation into attempts to subvert the election results in that state in the coming weeks.
Trump’s lawyer, John Lauro, has said in TV interviews that Trump’s actions were protected by the right to free speech and that he relied on the advice of his lawyers. Trump has made an unsubstantiated claim that Smith is trying to interfere with the 2024 election. Trump is the early poll favorite for the Republican nomination.
FOUNTAIN: Associated Press
