But if previous cases are anything to go by, Donald Trumps 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 the election results. The police are now running back into the capitol building. Hes not been charged with inciting the violent scenes of january 6th, but prosecutors have drawn a link. The attack on our Nations Capital onjanuary 6th, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of american democracy. Its described in the indictment. It was fuelled by lies. Lies by the defendant, targeted at obstructing a Bedrock Function of the us government, the nations process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the president ial election. Donald trump responded by posting a Campaign Statement on his social media network, truth social, like
The indictment was issued by a grand jury of citizens here in the District Of Columbia and it sets forth the crimes charged in detail. I encourage everyone to read it in full. The attack on our nations capitol onjanuary 6, 2021 was an unprecedented assault on the seat of american democracy. Its described in the indictment it was fuelled by lies, lies by the defendant, targeted at obstructing a Bedrock Function of the us government, the nations process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the president ial election. The men and women of Law Enforcement who defended the us capitol on january 6 are heroes. They are patriots and they are 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 a people. They defended the very institutions and principles that define the United States. Since the attack on our capitol, the Department Ofjustice Has remained committed to ensuri
Of a candidate for the president ial election next year, donald trump, facing serious criminal charges that he tried to overturn the result of the last election in 2020, which was won byjoe biden. Mr trump, who was president between 2016 and 2020, is charged with four counts of plotting to subvert the 2020 election result. The 45 page indictment, or charge sheet, accuses him of knowingly spreading Pervasive And Destabilising Lies about Election Fraud that threatened american democracy. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of between five and 20 years. Mr trump said the charges had awoken the world to the corruption, scandal and failure that has taken place in the us underjoe biden. The former president has now been impeached twice, arrested twice and charged in three criminal cases. In the other two, hes accused of mishandling secret documents, and of covering up a payment to a porn star. Heres our north america editor, sarah smith. Die hard trumpsupporters were anything but distraug
President at the United States. The only person who could possibly have told jack smith and The Grand Jury about those phone calls is mike pence. The january Six Committee invited mike pence to testify, but he refused. The january Six Committee did not bother to issue a statement to mike pence since they knew he would ignore it, just as some other elected republicans ignored subpoenas from the committee. Mike pence could not ignore jack smiths subpoena. Mike pence went to court in what he knew was a legally hopeless attempt to block jacks mitt subpoena. Mike pence went to court to try to show trumps quarters, whose votes he wants in the president ial campaign to think that he was forced by Judicial Process to testify to jack smiths grand jury. Mike pence did not just testify to jack smiths grand jury. He became the star witness, and he will be the start witness when the case that the United States of america versus Donald J Trump is presented to a trial jersey in washington, d. C. They
The special coverage. He is of course innocent until Proven Guilty and he will and should mount a robust defense against these charges, and he should be acquitted if he didnt do what he is accused of. But if the allegations made by the Justice Department in this indictment are proven, if the former president did what he is accused of, history is going to ask a different question of this time than what we might have otherwise been expecting. If the allegations in this indictment are proven Beyond A Reasonable Doubt and a jury convict some of these crimes, history will not ask, wow, how did america get to the point where they indicted a former president . History instead is going to ask, how did america get to the point where such a person could be elected to the presidency of the United States. Where actions such as these could be carried out from the oval office directed by a person who was elected president by the American People, along with his advisers. This is a grave day and a ser