Former US president Donald Trump was indicted by a grand jury for a third time on charges that he conspired to defraud the country and attempted to prevent the peaceful transfer of presidential power to Joe Biden. The indictment marks a historic moment— the first time a former US president has faced criminal charges for trying to overturn free and fair elections.
What the indictment said?
“The purpose of the conspiracy was to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election by using knowingly false claims of election fraud to obstruct the government function by which those results are collected, counted and certified,” the indictment from special counsel Jack Smith’s office said.
“Despite having lost, the defendant was determined to remain in power. So for more than two months following election day on November 3, 2020 the defendant spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that he actually won. These claims were false and the defendant knew they were false. But the defendant repeated and widely disseminated them anyway – to make his knowingly false claims appear legitimate, create and intense national atmosphere of mistrust and anger, and erode public faith in the administration of elections," it added.
Who are the co-conspirators in the indictment?
The indictment lists six co-conspirators who played a central role. They remain unnamed in the document but details show that they appear to be: Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Sidney Powell, Ken Chesebro, and Jeff Clark, a former Department of Justice employee.
What Donald Trump said following the indictment?
{{/usCountry}}The indictment lists six co-conspirators who played a central role. They remain unnamed in the document but details show that they appear to be: Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Sidney Powell, Ken Chesebro, and Jeff Clark, a former Department of Justice employee.
What Donald Trump said following the indictment?
{{/usCountry}}Donald Trump, who leads the Republican primary field for US presidential elections in 2024, said, “This is nothing more than the latest corrupt chapter in the continued pathetic attempt by the Biden Crime Family and their weaponized Department of Justice to interfere with the 2024 Presidential Election, in which President Trump is the undisputed frontrunner, and leading by substantial margins."
“But why did they wait two and a half years to bring these fake charges, right in the middle of President Trump’s winning campaign for 2024? Why was it announced the day after the big Crooked Joe Biden scandal broke out from the Halls of Congress," he added.