Donald Trump faced a new federal indictment on Tuesday in his effort to overturn his 2020 election loss, as prosecutors refined their strategy following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that former presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution.
U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team obtained the new indictment in the Washington case, which outlines the same four charges previously brought against the former Republican president. The charges now emphasize Trump’s role as a political candidate seeking reelection rather than his position as president at the time.
The Supreme Court ruled on July 1 that Trump cannot be prosecuted for actions taken within his constitutional powers as president. In response to this ruling, the revised indictment no longer includes allegations that Trump attempted to pressure the U.S. Justice Department to overturn his election defeat, an adjustment seemingly made to sustain the prosecution after the high court’s decision.
This indictment, like the initial one, accuses Trump of participating in a multi-part conspiracy to obstruct the certification of his election loss to Democratic President Joe Biden. Trump is running again as the Republican candidate, this time against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, with the election scheduled for November 5 this year.
The revised case was presented to a new grand jury that had not heard evidence from the original proceedings, according to a Justice Department spokesperson.
The updated indictment relies heavily on testimony and evidence from witnesses outside the federal government. One key witness is former Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, whom the indictment alleges was pressured by Trump and a co-conspirator to convene a special session to hold a hearing based on false claims of voter fraud.