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08/02/2023 07:04:25

Trump faces criminal charges for efforts to overturn 2020 election

Former US President Donald Trump has been criminally indicted for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, with prosecutors accusing the Republican politician of attempting to obstruct “a bedrock function” of democracy in order to cling on to power.

The 45-page indictment, filed in Washington, DC, on Tuesday by Special Counsel Jack Smith detailed four felony charges against Trump, some of which carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison.

They include one count of conspiracy to defraud the US, one count of conspiracy against rights, one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and one count of obstructing an official proceeding.

The charges – Trump’s third criminal indictment since March – stemmed from Smith’s sprawling investigation into allegations that the former president sought to reverse his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

In the indictment, prosecutors alleged that Trump pushed fraud claims he knew to be untrue, pressured state and federal officials – including Vice President Mike Pence – to alter the results and finally incited a violent assault on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 in a desperate attempt to undermine the country’s democracy and cling to power.

In a brief statement to reporters, Smith placed the blame for the violence squarely on Trump’s shoulders.

“The attack on our nation’s Capitol on January 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy,” Smith said. “It was fuelled by lies – lies by the defendant, targeted at obstructing the bedrock function of the US government,” he added.

Special Counsel Jack Smith has announced the unsealing of a second federal indictment against Donald Trump at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC [Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo]

Trump was ordered to make an initial appearance in federal court in Washington on Thursday. The case has been assigned to US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who was appointed by Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama.

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