(Patriot.Buzz) – In a renewed political witch hunt against the GOP presidential candidate, a grand jury in Washington, D.C., issued a new indictment against Donald Trump on four charges of alleged election interference in the 2020 presidential race.
Trump faces accusations of conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding, obstructing an official proceeding and conspiring against rights.
These are the same charges Special Counsel Jack Smith initially pressed, but he took off “some elements to the case” following a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.
Smith detailed the changes in a court filing: “Today, a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned a superseding indictment, ECF No. 226, charging the defendant with the same criminal offenses that were charged in the original indictment.”
“The superseding indictment, which was presented to a new grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in this case, reflects the Government’s efforts to respect and implement the Supreme Court’s holdings and remand instructions in Trump v. United States, 144 S. Ct 2312 (2024),” Smith added.
Notably, this updated indictment no longer names former Department of Justice attorney Jeffrey Clark after the Supreme Court shielded Trump’s interactions with certain Justice Department officials from prosecution.
Still, prosecutors argued that Trump’s actions were outside his presidential duties, emphasizing, “The defendant had no official responsibilities related to any state’s certification of the election results.”
Meanwhile, Smith’s team also sought to revive a related classified records case that had been dismissed by Judge Aileen Cannon on July 15.
They challenged her ruling, which stated that Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional because he was not a Senate-confirmed Justice Department official.
“Because special counsel Smith’s exercise of prosecutorial power has not been authorized by law, the court sees no way forward aside from dismissal of the superseding indictment,” Cannon wrote.
In their 81-page appeal, prosecutors argued against Cannon’s interpretation, citing several federal laws that support the Attorney General’s authority to appoint special counsel like Smith.
Despite ongoing legal battles, some observers remain cautious about the potential impact of any victories by Smith’s team.
Jordan Rubin, a former New York prosecutor now with MSNBC, noted, “The justice department has a decent chance of prevailing, but reviving the case alone won’t solve a continuing challenge Smith would still face: Cannon herself.”
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