Trump would have been convicted if not elected, DoJ report says

According to a recent report from the Department of Justice, Donald Trump, who is now the president again, would have faced conviction for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election if he had not been re-elected in 2024. This information comes from Special Counsel Jack Smith, who led the investigations into Trump's actions. Smith stated that the evidence against Trump was strong enough to secure a conviction in court. In response, Trump dismissed Smith's findings, labeling him as 'deranged' and claiming that the report was 'fake. ' The accusations against Trump included pressuring officials to change the election results, spreading false claims about election fraud, and trying to exploit the violent events that occurred at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing. After serving four years out of office, Trump successfully returned to the presidency in November. Following his victory in the 2024 election, many of the legal challenges he faced have been resolved, including the dismissal of the interference case. In his report, Smith expressed his full support for the decision to pursue the case against Trump, emphasizing the strength of the evidence. He noted that the only reason the case was not pursued further was due to the constitutional prohibition against prosecuting a sitting president. Smith stated, 'If Mr. Trump had not been elected in 2024, we would have had enough evidence to take him to trial. ' Some of the details in Smith's report were already known from a public filing in October, which outlined Trump's alleged attempts to overturn the election results. However, the report released to Congress provided additional insights into the rationale behind Smith's pursuit of the case and its eventual closure. The report accused Trump of making 'unprecedented efforts to unlawfully retain power' through threats and incitement of violence against his perceived adversaries. It also highlighted that Trump made claims of election fraud that he was aware were false. The report detailed the significant challenges faced by investigators, including Trump's use of social media to intimidate witnesses and officials. Smith firmly rejected the notion that the case was politically motivated, stating, 'Trump's claim that my decisions were influenced by the Biden administration is, quite frankly, laughable. ' He further emphasized that while they were unable to bring the case to trial, it was crucial for their team to uphold the rule of law. The 137-page report was sent to Congress after a judge allowed the initial portion to be released. Judge Aileen Cannon has scheduled a hearing later this week to determine whether the second part of the report, which addresses separate allegations regarding Trump's retention of classified documents at his Florida residence, can also be made public. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump maintained his innocence and mocked Smith, stating that the prosecutor failed to bring the case to trial before the election, which he won decisively. Trump declared, 'THE VOTERS HAVE SPOKEN! ' Smith was appointed in 2022 to oversee the investigations into Trump, as special counsels are selected by the Department of Justice in situations where there may be a conflict of interest. In the interference case, Trump was accused of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden. Both this case and the separate classified documents case resulted in criminal charges against Trump, who pleaded not guilty and sought to portray the prosecutions as politically motivated. However, Smith ultimately closed the cases after Trump's election in November, in accordance with Department of Justice regulations that prohibit the prosecution of a sitting president. The report clarified that the Department's position is that the Constitution does not allow for the continued indictment and prosecution of a president, regardless of the severity of the charges or the strength of the evidence. It also highlighted the difficult position prosecutors found themselves in, stating, 'The results of the 2024 election raised the question of how to proceed when a private citizen who has already been indicted is elected president. ' The release of the report follows a period of legal negotiations, during which Judge Cannon temporarily halted the full release of Smith's report due to concerns that it could impact the cases of two of Trump's associates who are also facing charges in the classified documents case. Walt Nauta, Trump's personal aide, and Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager at Mar-a-Lago, are accused of assisting Trump in concealing the documents. Unlike Trump, their cases are still pending, and their legal representatives argued that the release of Smith's report could prejudice a future jury and trial.