Special Counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday filed a revised indictment against former President Donald Trump, refining the charges related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.
While retaining the core allegations, the superseding indictment omits certain elements in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling on immunity.
Sharing a post on his X, Smith said, “A superseding indictment was filed in the DC election interference case today. It streamlines the charges and supporting evidence in the original indictment, in keeping with the SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) ruling re: executive immunity.”
The post further said, “It circumvents the need for an evidentiary hearing (the “mini trial”) to determine what charges apply. The DOJ has stated its position in this indictment. The majority of the charges levied against Donald Trump fall outside the scope of immunity.”
The reworked indictment keeps the same charges but addresses a US Supreme Court decision that broadens presidential immunity, trimming away interactions Trump had with the Department of Justice and zeroing in on his role as a political candidate.
Taking to the social media platform Truth, Trump criticised Smith for filing the case against him and said, “In an effort to resurrect a “dead” Witch Hunt in Washington, DC, in an act of desperation, and in order to save face, the illegally appointed “Special Counsel” Deranged Jack Smith, has brought a ridiculous new indictment against me, which has all the problems of the old indictment and should be dismissed immediately. His Florida Document Hoax Case has been completely dismissed.”
Notably, the central charge remains the same: that Trump attempted to subvert the 2020 presidential election and overturn his loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump has long claimed, falsely and without evidence, that widespread voter fraud marred the 2020 race.
The Republican presidential candidate further said that the filing of the case is an attempt to interfere with the upcoming elections. He added, “This is merely an attempt to interfere with the election, and distract the American people from the catastrophes Kamala Harris has inflicted on our nation, like the Border Invasion, Migrant Crime, Rampant Inflation, the threat of World War III, and more….”
The reworked case, unfolding in Washington, DC, is one of four indictments against Trump. He is the first US president to face and be convicted of criminal charges.
Out of the four cases against Donald Trump, only one has resulted in a conviction so far. In May, Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York.
However, even this conviction is now uncertain due to a recent Supreme Court ruling that grants sweeping immunity to presidential actions, potentially overturning the verdict.