Former US President Donald Trump indicted for trying to overturn 2020 Elections

Donald Trump was hit with criminal charges for a third time in four months - this time arising from efforts to overturn his 2020 US election defeat. Trump already had become the first former US president to face criminal charges.

Team Newsable

First Published Aug 2, 2023, 9:18 AM IST | Last Updated Aug 2, 2023, 9:18 AM IST

Donald Trump was indicted on Tuesday over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election — the most serious legal threat yet to the former president as he campaigns to return to the White House. The 77-year-old Trump has been charged with three counts of conspiracy and one count of obstruction in this, his third criminal indictment since March.

The trial for allegedly mishandling top-secret government information is already set to begin in Florida in May of next year. Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, is expected to testify in that case. The new charges raise the prospect of Trump being embroiled in more legal proceedings at the height of what is expected to be a bitter and divisive presidential campaign.

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The indictment brought by special counsel Jack Smith accuses Trump of conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceedings.

In the 45-page indictment issued by a grand jury in Washington, Trump is also charged with attempting to suppress American voters by claiming falsely that he won the November 2020 presidential election. The indictment stated that "shortly after election day, which fell on November 3, 2020, the Defendant launched his criminal scheme."

The White House maintained silence on the historic indictment of Trump.

Six co-conspirators are mentioned in the indictment, but none are named, and Trump is the only defendant who is specifically named. Trump will be charged on August 3 in court, and Smith stated he will push for a "speedy trial."

US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, a choice of former Democratic President Barack Obama, is anticipated to hear the case. Trump has criticised the inquiry on several occasions, branding it a political "witch hunt" by the Justice Department.

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