The document contains the same charges as the previous one, but it has been amended to take into account a recent Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity.
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Jack Smith, the special counsel prosecuting Donald Trump for unlawfully attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, released a revised indictment Tuesday, Aug. 27, to take into account a recent Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.
The new document contains the same four charges as the previous one. It “reflects the prosecution’s willingness to respect and implement the findings and instructions of the Supreme Court”said in a statement the spokesman for the special counsel, Peter Carr. Donald Trump, former president and Republican presidential candidate, therefore remains charged with “conspiracy against American institutions” and “violating the right to vote” of voters, for his pressure on local authorities in several key states in order to invalidate the results of the 2020 election.
In an unprecedented decision on July 1, the Supreme Court granted the president of the United States broad criminal immunity. By a majority of six to three – conservative justices against progressives – the highest court in the country considers that “The President enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts,” but that he “is entitled to at least a presumption of immunity for his official acts”She ruled out prosecution of all discussions between Donald Trump and the Justice Department until the end of his term.
The Supreme Court therefore sent the case back to trial judge Tanya Chutkan to determine what acts are potentially immune from criminal prosecution. The burden is on the prosecution to demonstrate that they are not when they were committed in the exercise of its functions.
As a result, prosecutors removed from the indictment a series of conversations or communications between Donald Trump and executive branch officials, including the Justice Department.
The trial, originally scheduled for March 4 in Washington, was already postponed until the Supreme Court rules on Donald Trump’s claim of criminal immunity. The former Republican president is the subject of four criminal proceedings.