The days go by and the legal torments too, for Donald Trump. On Thursday, a group of American legal experts established that there was indeed enough evidence to prosecute the former American president in court, for his attempt to illegally maintain power after the elections. of 2020.
The populist could be held accountable for his crimes under at least three US laws he allegedly violated, the group of federal prosecutors and criminal lawyers summarized in an impeachment memorandum posted on the Just Security website.
It is an assessment of the evidence accumulated during the investigations carried out among others by the commission of inquiry into the assault on the Capitol of January 6, 2021, and which is similar to the documents prepared by the prosecutors before an indictment. , in the USA.
Concordance of times: On Tuesday, Donald Trump moved closer to another indictment in Georgia, where justice put his fate in the hands of a new grand jury. The citizens’ group is set to decide in the coming weeks whether charges warrant the ex-president for trying to conjure up fake voters in his favor in the 2020 ballot in the southern state.
“Trump knew he had lost the election, but did not want to relinquish power,” the memorandum reads. He then sought with his lawyers and others to devise a wide variety of schemes to change the outcome. »
“These schemes included the creation of fraudulent election certificates that were submitted to Congress,” in contravention of the Conspiracy Act which “prohibits conspiracies to defraud the United States in the administration of elections.” This tactic may also have violated laws prohibiting obstruction of official proceedings.
Several rioters who participated in the January 6, 2021 riots targeting the Capitol in Washington have been convicted under these laws, including members of the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys supremacist and paramilitary group.
The legal group admits that Trump and his entourage, after failing to have ex-Vice President Mike Pence overturn the vote, then sparked “an insurrection in the hope that it would distract Congress from its trajectory. The thing delayed “the transfer of power for the first time in American history”, now facing the populist possible charges for inciting an insurrection and for “aiding or supporting insurgents”, they write.
They add, “A series of convictions against several of the leading insurgents for seditious conspiracy laid the groundwork for insurgency charges against Trump. […] We believe there is sufficient evidence to prosecute [l’ex-président]as suggested [la commission d’enquête], but prosecutors can decide otherwise. »
Round of auditions
The memorandum comes as Special Counsel Jack Smith, appointed by the Justice Department to investigate the ex-president’s alleged criminal interference in the 2020 election, has met with several witnesses, lawmakers, secretaries of state and allies of Donald Trump. Thursday, the New York Times revealed that Donald Trump’s son-in-law and ex-adviser Jared Kushner testified before a grand jury in Washington last month.
These hearings suggest that a decision to prosecute the ex-president would be imminent.
The group of experts also believes that an “indictment during the summer”, in the case of the insurrection on Capitol Hill, would make it possible not to interfere too much with the American electoral calendar. ” The case [serait] judged within a year, and this, before the Republican National Convention in July 2024. ” The event kicks off the final electoral contest between Democrats and Republicans for the November ballot.
The Republican seeks for the third time to obtain his entry ticket to the White House, during the presidential elections of 2024.
Recall that the commission of inquiry into the events of January 6, 2021 also recommended that charges be brought against several other relatives of Donald Trump, including John Eastman, the lawyer who sought to force the hand of Mike Pence so that he rejects the certification of election results, and Kenneth Chesebro, a little-known lawyer, who helped develop a bogus voter certificate scheme.
So far, the former president has been arrested and brought to justice twice. In New York, he faces charges of document falsification in a bribe payment case aimed at silencing a witness for a sex story. In Florida, he was charged with unlawfully keeping secret documents at his private residence in Mar-a-Lago and refusing to cooperate in returning them. Many of these documents have the potential to put the country’s security at risk.
The populist has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges against him.
In recent months, the judicial vice has tightened more and more around Donald Trump. On Thursday, the attorney general of Arizona indicated that he was continuing to investigate the possible attempt to overthrow the 2020 elections in this southern state by Donald Trump and his relatives.
This week, at a political rally in Iowa, Donald Trump reiterated his accusations of electoral fraud which he claims to have been the victim of in 2020. This fraud has never been demonstrated, including during recounts carried out in controlled states by Republicans.
Although 56.3% of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of the ex-president, according to the latest YouGov poll conducted for The Economist and unveiled this week, Donald Trump remains the favorite in the race for the Republican nomination, ahead of his closest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, by about 30 points in voting intentions.