For the third time, a former U.S. president was indicted. For the third time, that former U.S. president was Donald Trump.
Trump Indicted: Here’s How DOJ Says He Illegally Tried To Overturn The 2020 Election
Former President Donald Trump was indicted in federal court Tuesday on four charges stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, with prosecutors laying out a multi-pronged effort by the ex-president and his co-conspirators to challenge the vote count that the Justice Department alleges violated federal law, reports Alison Durkee.
The DOJ alleges in the indictment that Trump and his co-conspirators carried out a “conspiracy to impair, obstruct, and defeat the federal government function through dishonesty, fraud, and deceit” through five schemes challenging the election results that allegedly violated federal laws against conspiracy and obstruction.
Trump and his co-conspirators allegedly used deceit and false claims about election fraud (which the indictment alleges Trump knew were false) to pressure state officials and lawmakers in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to overturn the election results, including by directly speaking with officials—like Trump’s phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger—and pressuring state lawmakers to use the legislatures to replace the states’ electors or declare the election is “in dispute.”
Here’s What Happens Next
Ex-President Trump will soon have to appear in federal court in Washington, D.C., where the court could be less friendly to him than his first federal indictment in Florida. Trump has been ordered to appear in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Thursday at 4 p.m. He is largely expected to plead not guilty to the charges against him. As with his previous two indictments, Trump is not expected to be detained, reports Alison Durkee.
Trump Reacts To Indictment: Says Jan. 6 Charges ‘Reminiscent’ Of Nazi Persecution
Trump likened the four criminal charges he faces to the political repression efforts conducted by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in his first comments following his latest round of criminal charges, reports Antonio Pequeño IV.
In response, Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted that comparing the indictments with Nazi Germany in the 1930s “is factually incorrect, completely inappropriate and flat out offensive,” reports Siladitya Ray.
Who Is Tanya Chutkan? Judge In Trump’s Jan. 6 Case Has Imposed Tough Capitol Riot Sentences
D.C. District Judge Tanya Chutkan—who was randomly selected to oversee Trump’s January 6 criminal charges—has handed down some of the harshest sentences for Capitol rioters, and played an instrumental role in unveiling key evidence that reappeared in the Justice Department’s Tuesday indictment of the former president, reports Sara Dorn.
By The Numbers
55 years: The maximum prison sentence Trump could theoretically receive, if he is convicted of all four crimes the Department of Justice says he committed in its latest indictment.
$47: The amount Trump supporters need to donate to one of his political committees to receive a T-shirt reading, “I stand with Trump. 08.01.2023.”
6: The number of unnamed conspirators mentioned in Trump’s indictment
Road To 2024
Former Vice President Mike Pence reacted to Trump’s indictment Tuesday, saying “anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States,” noting Trump’s indictment-filled presidential run now distracts from what he called the Biden Administration’s “disastrous economic policies,” reports Antonio Pequeño IV.
Pence, who prosecutors allege was “directly pressured” by Trump to fraudulently reject President Joe Biden’s election win, said in a statement shared by his 2024 presidential campaign Tuesday that Trump demanded he choose between the former president and the Constitution on January 6.
“I chose the constitution, and I always will,” Pence said in the statement.
This article was first published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.