Trump Indicted Over Plot To Reverse 2020 Defeat

August 2, 2023
Jack Smith's indictment of Trump for January 6
(TPM Illustration/Getty Images)
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August 2, 2023

On Tuesday evening, nearly three years after President Trump launched a sweeping attempt to reverse his loss in the 2020 election, criminal charges were brought against him.

Trump is the only President in U.S. history to refuse to accept his loss, and to try to marshal the forces of the government to stay in power. In 2020, that involved months of lies and baseless legal efforts which culminated in the violent storm at the Capitol building on January 6.

Now, Special Prosecutor Jack Smith has brought charges against Trump in connection with the plot. The charges, returned in an indictment on Tuesday by a D.C. grand jury, include conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

Trump faces four counts — one for each charge. His first court appearance is scheduled for Thursday at 4 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan.

Smith is trying to hold Trump accountable for a scheme that, TPM has emphasized, extended far beyond the mayhem on January 6. Through fake electors, false affidavits, misleading lawsuits, bogus claims of voter fraud, and much more, Trump led a campaign to con the nation into believing that victory in the 2020 election had been stolen from him.

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On Tuesday evening, nearly three years after President Trump launched a sweeping attempt to reverse his loss in the 2020 election, criminal charges were brought against him.

Trump is the only President in U.S. history to refuse to accept his loss, and to try to marshal the forces of the government to stay in power. In 2020, that involved months of lies and baseless legal efforts which culminated in the violent storm at the Capitol building on January 6.

Now, Special Prosecutor Jack Smith has brought charges against Trump in connection with the plot. The charges, returned in an indictment on Tuesday by a D.C. grand jury, include conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

Trump faces four counts — one for each charge. His first court appearance is scheduled for Thursday at 4 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan.

Smith is trying to hold Trump accountable for a scheme that, TPM has emphasized, extended far beyond the mayhem on January 6. Through fake electors, false affidavits, misleading lawsuits, bogus claims of voter fraud, and much more, Trump led a campaign to con the nation into believing that victory in the 2020 election had been stolen from him.

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