Donald Trump is indicted for trying to steal the 2020 election
Eight weeks ago, when charges were unveiled related to his mishandling of classified documents, Donald Trump became the first former American president ever to face a federal indictment. On August 1st he became the first to battle two sets of federal charges at the same time. The Department of Justice (DoJ) accused the former president of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election—a race he still insists he won—in violation of three federal laws. The new charges are the gravest to date against Mr Trump, and will inject yet more jeopardy into the 2024 presidential race.
As in June, it was the defendant who broke the news. On July 18th, in a vituperative social-media post, Mr Trump acknowledged that he had received a letter from the DoJ naming him as a target. When the indictment arrived on August 1st he likened the department’s actions to those of “Nazi Germany in the 1930s”.
The new charges follow a lengthy process. A 17-month investigation by a congressional committee advised the DoJ to bring criminal charges. In December Jack Smith, who was appointed special counsel by Merrick Garland, the attorney-general, took up that mantle in what became an eight-month investigation of his own. The probe culminated in Mr Smith’s decision to charge Mr Trump with criminal liability for his efforts to remain in the White House despite losing the election in 2020.
2023-08-02 01:18:55
Source from www.economist.com
