Connect with us

Elections

New Indictment Charges Against Trump Despite Supreme Court’s Presidential Immunity Ruling

Published

on

Despite the Supreme Court’s recent decision to grant former President Donald Trump presidential immunity for official acts, a federal grand jury has served him a new indictment on four charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

The indictment mirrors the initial charges against Trump in the election subversion case, accusing him of conspiring to defraud the U.S., conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding, obstructing and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiring against rights.

The Supreme Court’s ruling granted Trump immunity for actions taken as part of his official duties as president. However, the ruling left room for charges related to acts that fall outside the scope of the presidency. This distinction is emphasized in the language of the superseding indictment, which is nine pages shorter than the original, according to reports by National Review.

In light of the Supreme Court’s decision, the new indictment has been carefully revised to exclude aspects that could be considered official acts, such as Trump’s interactions with Justice Department and cabinet officials regarding his false claims that the 2020 election was rigged. These details, which were present in the original indictment, have been removed after the court noted that Trump’s conversations with Justice Department officials fall under presidential immunity.

Special counsel Jack Smith, who is prosecuting the case in Washington, D.C., has made it clear that he intends to expedite Trump’s trial on the election-interference charges. Smith’s urgency is evident, as he aims to bring Trump to trial as quickly as possible, despite the delays caused by Trump’s legal appeals.

Trump had previously pleaded not guilty to the Washington, D.C. charges and appealed them to the Supreme Court, arguing for presidential immunity. This appeal temporarily halted Smith’s efforts to bring the case to trial. However, with the Supreme Court’s ruling in place, the case is moving forward with the revised indictment.

The new indictment further distinguishes Trump’s actions, specifically pointing to his use of Twitter for “personal purposes” and his involvement in the “privately-funded, privately-organized” rally on January 6, 2021, which escalated into a riot at the Capitol. The indictment also highlights Trump’s alleged conspiracy with unnamed co-conspirators to challenge the election results through legal and political means. It asserts that at the time, Trump was a presidential candidate and had no control over the certification of state election results.

As the 2024 GOP presidential nominee, Trump has frequently accused Smith of pursuing politically motivated prosecutions against him. Meanwhile, Smith is also appealing Judge Aileen Cannon’s dismissal of the classified-documents case against Trump. Cannon had ruled that Smith’s appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional, a point raised by Justice Clarence Thomas in his concurring opinion on Trump’s presidential immunity case.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Elections

Canada Beefs up Border Security After Trump Threatened Sweeping Tariffs

Published

on

In November, president-elect Donald Trump announced on social media that he would impose a 25% tariff on all products from Canada and Mexico if they do not take an active role in containing illegal immigration as well as the level of illicit drugs entering into the United States.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Trump at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, after which the Canadian government vowed to secure the border. “We got, I think, a mutual understanding of what they’re concerned about in terms of border security,” Minister of Public Safety Dominic LeBlanc, who accompanied Trudeau at Mar-a-Largo, said of the meeting in an interview with Canadian media. “All of their concerns are shared by Canadians and by the government of Canada.”

“We talked about the security posture currently at the border that we believe to be effective, and we also discussed additional measures and visible measures that we’re going to put in place over the coming weeks,” LeBlanc continued. “And we also established, Rosemary, a personal series of rapport that I think will continue to allow us to make that case.”

The Daily Caller News Foundation reports the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is preparing to beef up its immigration enforcement capabilities by hiring more staff, adding more vehicles and creating more processing facilities, in the chance that there is an immigration surge sparked by Trump’s presidential election victory. The moves are a change in direction from Trudeau’s public declaration in January 2017 that Canada was a “welcoming” country and that “diversity is our strength” just days after Trump was sworn into office the first time.

The Daily Caller notes the differences in response from the Canadian government verses Mexico’s:

Trudeau’s recent overtures largely differ from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has indicated she is not willing to bend the knee to Trump’s tariff threats. The Mexican leader in November said “there will be a response in kind” to any tariff levied on Mexican goods going into the U.S., and she appeared to deny the president-elect’s claims that she agreed to do more to beef up border security in a recent phone call.

Continue Reading

Trending