Former President Donald Trump faces a new superseding indictment from special counsel Jack Smith, focusing on allegations of resisting the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election. The charges have been narrowed after a Supreme Court ruling on presidential power earlier this year, limiting the evidence included and removing an unnamed individual from the list of unindicted co-conspirators. The indictment maintains four counts against Trump, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, and accuses him of using his role as a candidate to try to overturn the election results. The new document details alleged acts such as organizing fake elector slates and working on a legal strategy to subvert the transfer of power.
The new superseding indictment comes in response to a recent Supreme Court ruling that presidents and former presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for official acts they take during their presidency. The court divided presidential conduct into three categories, ruling that immunity is absolute for some acts, presumptive for others, and nonexistent for unofficial acts. Some of the conduct alleged in the original indictment, such as Trump’s discussions with the Justice Department, was disqualified under this ruling. The court tasked the judge overseeing the case with determining which alleged acts were official and unofficial, with certain campaign-related conduct likely fair game for prosecution.
After the Supreme Court decision, Judge Tanya Chutkan was asked to review the case and determine which acts fall into the official or unofficial category. Trump’s lawyers acknowledged that some acts entailed private conduct that could be prosecuted, such as involvement with outside lawyers to submit fraudulent elector slates. The new indictment accuses Trump of pressuring state officials to overturn election results and assembling alternate elector slates, as well as allegedly involving then-Vice President Mike Pence in his scheme. The charges against Trump in the original indictment related to the Capitol attack and his efforts to subvert the transfer of power are still present in the new charging document.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has denied any wrongdoing. The new indictment clarifies that Pence is viewed as Trump’s running mate in a political race, not as vice president, regarding the alleged scheme. By waiving Trump’s appearance at an arraignment on the new charges, prosecutors signal an intention to move forward with the case without revealing all their evidence publicly before trial. The special counsel’s decision to file a superseding indictment after the Supreme Court ruling aims to refine the alleged criminal acts tied to Trump’s conduct after the 2020 election and the subsequent effort to overturn the results.
