his efforts to change the outcome in any state through recounts, audits, or legal challenges were uniformly unsuccessful. shortly after election day, the defendant also pursued unlawful means of discounting legitimate votes and subverting the election results. in so doing, the defendant perpetrated three criminal conspiracy. and then the defendant lays out the three felony conspiracy counts, all described with reference to those statutes i just described. and it continues. each of these conspiracies, which built on the widespread mistrust the defendant was creating for pervasive and destabilizing lies about election fraud, targeted a bedrock function of the united states, of the united states federal government, the nations process of collecting, counting, and certifying the results of the presidential election. on page three of the indictment, we get the sort of narrative
running back. the violent attack on january 6th was, say prosecutors, the result of his prolific lies, as he deliberately created nationwide mistrust and anger. the attack on our nation s capitol on january 6th 2021 was an unprecedented assault on the seat of american democracy. as described in the indictment, it was fuelled by lies. lies by the defendant, targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the us government. the trump campaign claims he is being politically persecuted and says his treatment is reminiscent of nazi germany in the 1930s. why did they wait two and a half years? you know why? because he s leading in the polls! because they re afraid of him becoming president and dismantling the uniparty! dismantling the deep state! the indianola parade in iowa
it was fueled by lies, lies by the defendant, targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the u.s. government and the nation s process of collecting, counting, and certifying the results of the presidential election. reporter: but the indictment about more than trump s public statements. it was about his actions, too, including a relentless pressure campaign targeting republican officials, including his own vice president, mike pence. pence today reacting to the indictment, which mentions him and his role more than 100 times, and kwoement quotes trum him, you re too honest. i ve been very clear, i had hoped it wouldn t come to this. reporter: pence testified before smith s grand jury and turned over contemporaneous notes he took after his conversations with trump. for my part, i want people to know that i had no right to overturn the election. and that s what the president maintained that day, and frankly, has said over and over again over the last 2 1/2 years, is compl
as described in the indictment, it was fuelled by lies, lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the us government, the nation s process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election. the men and women of law enforcement who defended the us capitol onjanuary 6th are heroes. they are patriots and the very best of us. they did notjust defend a building, or the people sheltering in it they put their lives on the line to defend who we are as a country and as a people. they defended the very institutions and principles that defined the united states. since the attack on our capitol, the department ofjustice has remained committed to ensuring accountability for those criminally responsible for what happened that day. this case is brought consistent with that commitment. our investigation of other individuals continues.
on thursday in washington dc as our washington correspondent sean dilley explains. crowd: we love trump! he is the first president to be charged with a federal crime but if previous cases are anything to go by, donald trump s third indictment is only likely to boost his popularity with republican voters. the charges he faces though are serious, the 45 page indictment accuses the former president of knowingly spreading false claims about election fraud to trick and persuade states into helping him overturn election results. the attack on our nation s capital onjanuary sixth, 2021 was an unprecedented assault on the seat of american democracy. it is described in the indictment it was fuelled by lies. lies by the defendant, targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the us government, a nation s process of collecting, counting and certifying the results