Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a superseding indictment against Donald Trump in the 2020 election case in D.C.
It’s doubtful the case will go to trial before the November election.
Smith narrowed the allegations after the Supreme Court’s immunity decision but applied the same charges:
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). The Government does not oppose waiver of the defendant’s appearance for arraignment on the superseding indictment. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 10(b). As this Court directed, ECF No. 197, the Government will confer with the defense and make a joint proposal, to the extent possible, regarding pretrial litigation in the status report due Friday.
The charges:
The original indictment had 45 pages. The new indictment only has 36 pages.
SCOTUS targeted Section 1512(c)(2) in the Fischer vs. US case but did not knock it out. The justices said Smith didn’t apply it properly. From the Fischer case:
To prove a violation of Section 1512(c)(2), the Government must establish that the defendant impaired the availability or integrity for use in an official proceeding of records, documents, objects, or as we earlier explained, other things used in the proceeding, or attempted to do so. See supra, at 9. The judgment of the D. C. Circuit is therefore vacated, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. On remand, the D. C. Circuit may assess the sufficiency of Count Three of Fischer’s indictment in light of our interpretation of Section 1512(c)(2).
Smith did not change the application of the charge: “From on or about November 13, 2020, through on or about January 7, 2021, in the District of Columbia and elsewhere, the Defendant, Donald J. Trump, attempted to, and did, corruptly obstruct and impede an official proceeding, that is, the certification of the electoral vote.”
I need to compare the language in the original indictment and the new language to see if anything changed, but I doubt nothing did.
Smith removed the section accusing Trump of trying to leverage the DOJ to go after state officials, which took up five pages. It also means that Smith removed Jeff Clark, coconspirator 4.
The special counsel also took out Trump’s alleged false statements and inserted general language.
The new indictment points out “the political and personal nature” of Trump’s alleged reactions on January 6, 2021.
Smith also described Mike Pence as vice president and Trump’s running mate in the accusation that he tried to pressure Pence not to certify the election.
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