Special Counsel says Trump election overturn conviction was imminent
3 Min Read
Jack Smith defends his decision to charge the president-elect in a 174-page report.
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US President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, on December 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP)
Special Counsel Jack Smith stated that US President-elect Donald Trump would likely have been convicted for attempting to overturn the 2020 election results, based on the available evidence, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday,
Smith defended his decision to charge Trump for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
In his 174-page report, Smith wrote that prosecutors believe they had sufficient evidence to convict Trump had they not been forced to drop the case following his re-election in November.
Closing an unprecedented chapter in US history, he added, "In fact, had Mr. Trump not been elected and was not imminently returning to the presidency, the office determined that the admissible evidence was sufficient for a conviction and could support it in trial."
Moreover, Smith dismissed the case regarding federal interference in the election and another alleging that Trump unlawfully retained classified documents, citing the Department of Justice's long-standing policy that prohibits prosecuting a sitting president.
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Last year in August, US prosecutors secured a new indictment in the ongoing 2020 election subversion case against former President Donald Trump. This move came shortly after a US Supreme Court ruling that granted former presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution.
The new indictment notably omitted previous allegations that Trump attempted to pressure the US Justice Department to overturn his electoral defeat.
This adjustment appeared to be a strategic effort by prosecutors to maintain the viability of the case after the Supreme Court's ruling, which effectively shielded Trump from prosecution for actions taken during his presidency.
The case, which has been closely watched, centered on Trump's alleged attempts to undermine the 2020 election results. The original indictment included claims that Trump had exerted undue influence on the Justice Department to challenge the election outcome. However, with the Supreme Court's decision affirming presidential immunity in such matters, prosecutors were compelled to revise their approach.
Trump claimed that he had received a letter from prosecutors indicating that he is likely to be criminally indicted in connection with the violence at the US Capitol on January 6.
On Trump's Truth Social platform, he wrote that "Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden's DOJ, sent a letter... stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6 Grand Jury investigation."
The president, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, claimed that he received the letter and had "a very short four days" to report to a grand jury, "which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment."
"This witch hunt is all about election interference and a complete and total political weaponization of law enforcement," Trump said. "It is a very sad and dark period for our Nation!"
