Donald Trump was accused Tuesday of having tried to reverse the result of the 2020 elections, in the most serious legal case so far against the former president who is campaigning to return to the White House.
(You can read: Trump will appear this Thursday before a judge in Washington for a new reading of charges)
In the 45-page writ filed by special counsel Jack Smith, he is charged with three counts of conspiracy and one count of obstruction.
(In context: Trump is indicted for trying to reverse the results of the 2020 elections)
Trump, the favorite to be the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential candidate, is accused of conspiracy to deceive the United States and conspiracy to obstruct official proceedingthat is, the joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021 to certify the victory of Democrat Joe Biden.
The former president will appear this Thursday in Washington before Judge Moxila Upadhyaya, of the federal court of the District of Columbia, after being charged this Tuesday.
This is how these serious crimes are described in the document.
(Keep reading: Donald Trump and Joe Biden, tied for 2024 presidential elections, according to survey)
Conspiracy to defraud the United States
For this crime, Trump could face a maximum sentence of five years. The grand jury that has indicted the former president considers that conspired to “disrupt, obstruct, and defeat” the operation of the federal government, through “dishonesty, fraud, and lies” in various ways.
He claims that Trump and his allies knowingly made “false claims” of voter fraud to get state legislators and election officials to reverse “legitimate results” of the election.
(Also read: Donald Trump continues to sweep the Republicans despite his legal troubles)
“The defendant pushed officials in some states to ignore the popular vote, disenfranchise millions of voters, reject legitimate voters, and cause illegitimate voters to verify and vote in favor of the defendant,” the brief states.
The defendant pushed officials to ignore the popular vote, disenfranchise millions of voters, turn away legitimate voters and cause illegitimate voters to be verified and voted.
In this sense, it is ensured that Trump and his associates organized “fraudulent” lists of voters in seven battleground states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin).
The indictment describes how this resulted in those “fraudulent” voters coming together on Election Day to cast a ballot, also described as “fraudulent” by the grand jury, for Trump, and signing certificates stating in a “false” way they appeared as legitimate voters.
(See also: DeSantis reveals what his economic plan will be if he wins the US presidency.)
It also tells how Trump and his allies “attempted to use the authority of the Department of Justice” to carry out “false” investigations and send letters to key states alleging that the Attorney General’s Office had “significant concerns” that could have an impact on the election results.
Regarding January 6, 2021, the then president allegedly tried to convince his vice president, Mike Pence, that that day he was acting as president of the Upper House in the session to ratify Biden’s electoral victory in Congress, so that he could alter the results of the elections.
When it became clear that Pence was not going to cooperate, Trump tried to take advantage of a mob assault on Capitol Hill by “redoubling his efforts to raise false claims of voter fraud and convince members of Congress to further delay the vote.” ratification” of Biden, says the text.
(Also read: Will Trump withdraw from the presidential race if he is convicted? Former president responds)
Supporters of US President Trump in the Capitol Rotunda after breaching Capitol Hill security in Washington, DC, the United States, January 6, 2021.
EFE / EPA / JIM LO SCALZO
Conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and attempt to do so
The grand jury also charged Trump with the crime of conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding and the crime of obstructing or attempting to obstruct an official proceeding, both very similar and with a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
To support this accusation, the grand jury uses the same evidence used in the first count, and claims that Between November 12, 2020 and January 7, 2021, one day after the assault on the Capitol, Trump “attempted to prevent and corruptly prevented an official procedure, that is, the ratification of the electoral results”.
(Also: Prosecutor adds three more charges against Donald Trump for withholding classified documents)
conspiracy against rights
The fourth and last charge is that of “conspiracy against rights” which is applied when more than two people agree to attack someone who is exercising their constitutional rights and who has a maximum sentence of ten years in prison.
The grand jury found that Trump “knowingly conspired” with others to “injure, oppress, threaten, and intimidate persons who have exercised a right guaranteed in the Constitution,” in reference to the right to vote.
(Also read: Donald Trump: the start date of the trial against him for secret documents is defined)
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Pro-Trump protesters occupy the west front grounds of the US Capitol, including the inaugural stage and observation decks, in Washington, DC, USA, January 6, 2021.
EFE / EPA / MICHAEL REYNOLDS ATTEN
Will it have an impact on your campaign?
These are the most serious charges against the former head of state, who has already been indicted for negligence in the management of confidential White House documents and payments to a porn actress.
Trump, 77, has become the first former president of the United States this year to be criminally charged by federal justice.
The politician and billionaire nevertheless retains the loyalty of a large part of his party. He is clearly a favorite in the polls for the Republican nomination and even widens the gap over number two, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has been stumbling since the start of the campaign.
(You can read: When will Trump start a trial for classified documents? This said the judge)
Anyone who ranks above the Constitution should never be President of the United States.
Mike Pence, who was vice president of the tycoon and who is also seeking the Republican nomination, did not miss the opportunity to attack Trump: “Anyone who stands above the Constitution should never be president of the United States,” he said Tuesday night .
Trump’s campaign, meanwhile, issued a harsh statement comparing his prosecution to “1930s Nazi Germany” and saying he “has always followed the law and the Constitution, with the advice of several highly qualified attorneys.” “.
(In addition: Donald Trump’s defense already has a date before a judge for the case of classified documents)
![](https://www.eltiempo.com/images/1x1.png)
From left From right, Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida; Donald Trump, former US President; and Mike Pence, former US Vice President.
The impact of the new indictment on Trump’s run for the White House is still unclear. For now, the ex-president has repeatedly carried out a “witch hunt”, a new “electoral interference” and a “political use” of justice to prevent him from being a candidate.
The former president continues to affirm without evidence that the 2020 elections were “stolen” from him.
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His judicial problems could, yes, be further complicated if he is charged by the Georgia prosecutor, who is investigating him for putting pressure on officials to try to alter the result of the 2020 presidential elections in this southern state.
The investigation was opened shortly after a January 2021 phone call in which Trump asked a local official, Brad Raffensperger, to “find” nearly 12,000 ballots in his name.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from AFP and EFE
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