Trump faces revised 2020 election interference charges

Donald Trump, the former president of the United States, is now facing updated charges regarding his actions during the 2020 election. These charges come after he lost the election to Joe Biden. The new charges have been revised to align with a recent Supreme Court ruling that stated presidents have a certain level of immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken while in office. This ruling had previously cast doubt on the case against Trump. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing, asserting that he did not pressure officials to change the election results, spread false claims about election fraud, or attempt to use the events of January 6, 2021, when a riot occurred at the Capitol, to delay the certification of Biden's victory. It appears unlikely that this case, along with other criminal cases he is facing, will go to trial before the upcoming election on November 5. The revised indictment was brought forth by Special Counsel Jack Smith from the Department of Justice. It maintains the four main charges against Trump: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, attempting to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. However, these charges now focus on Trump as a political candidate rather than as a sitting president. Trump has previously pleaded not guilty to all charges. In a post on his Truth Social platform, he described the new indictment as an attempt to revive a 'dead' investigation and distract the American public from the upcoming election. He has called for the charges to be dismissed immediately. His campaign has not responded to a request for comment from the BBC. However, a source close to his legal team informed CBS News that the second indictment was not unexpected. The source stated, 'This is what the government is supposed to do based on what the Supreme Court did. ' They maintain that they believe Smith's case is flawed and should be dismissed. The new charging document has been shortened from 45 pages to 36 pages and has reworked the language of the allegations to address the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity. The new document argues that Trump acted as a private citizen rather than as president when he allegedly attempted to influence the election. One new line in the indictment states, 'The defendant had no official responsibilities related to the certification proceeding, but he did have a personal interest as a candidate in being named the winner of the election. ' Another new line refers to a lawsuit filed by Trump's campaign in Georgia. The previous wording indicated that the lawsuit was 'filed in his name,' but the updated indictment clarifies that it was 'filed in his capacity as a candidate for president. ' The new document also appears to have removed charges against Jeffrey Clark, a former Department of Justice official who was involved in the so-called fake electors scheme, according to prosecutors. Clark was not named in either indictment but has been identified in the media through public records. The fresh indictment also drops the claim that Trump attempted to pressure Department of Justice officials to overturn his defeat. The Supreme Court ruled that Trump's direction to justice officials was not illegal. The special counsel's office stated that the superseding indictment had been presented to a new grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in the case. A grand jury is a group of citizens convened by a prosecutor to determine whether there is enough evidence to pursue a prosecution. The new indictment retains several key allegations against Trump, including that he attempted to persuade Vice President Mike Pence to obstruct Biden's election certification. This is significant because conversations between Trump and Pence would likely fall under the category of 'official' acts, for which Trump has immunity from prosecution according to the Supreme Court ruling. The revised indictment indicates that Smith interpreted the Supreme Court ruling to mean that his case could still proceed, but whether it would satisfy the Supreme Court's standards for presidential immunity remains uncertain. Trump is accused of trying to undermine Biden's victory in the last election, including by exploiting the riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The revised indictment does not necessarily mean that the case will move forward more quickly. Experts believe it is unlikely to be heard before the 2024 election. The source close to Trump's legal team mentioned that they would request additional time to prepare for the case, which could delay the start of the trial if the judge agrees. This case was initiated after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith in 2022 to oversee two federal investigations into Trump: the election interference case and another case in which Trump is accused of taking classified documents back to his Florida home after leaving office. On Monday, Smith's team appealed a Florida judge's decision to dismiss the latter case. The judge had ruled that the mere existence of special counsels violated the US Constitution. Smith argued that the judge's view deviated from legal precedent. Both cases face uncertain futures following the Supreme Court's landmark decision. The same is true for a separate case in Georgia, where Trump and 18 other defendants are accused of criminally conspiring to overturn his narrow defeat in 2020. Trump has pleaded not guilty, and a trial date has not yet been set. Meanwhile, Trump is awaiting sentencing after being convicted in New York in May for falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments made to a porn star. If Trump defeats Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in November, he is widely expected to instruct officials to drop all remaining federal charges against him.