Trump led 'criminal effort' to overturn 2020 vote and faced conviction if not elected
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Donald Trump led a "criminal effort" to overturn the 2020 election result and would have been convicted if he had not become president, a special counsel report has found. The President-elect was accused of conspiracy to defraud America and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding after the January 6 riot at the Capitol building in 2021. Jack Smith, the special prosecutor appointed to investigate Trump's alleged interference, concluded that he engaged in an "unprecedented criminal effort to overturn the legitimate results of the election in order to retain power" after losing the 2020 election.
However, Smith was prevented from bringing the case to trial because of Trump's November election victory and the Justice Department's longstanding policy against prosecuting a sitting president. "The department's view that the constitution prohibits the continued indictment and prosecution of a president is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the government's proof or the merits of the prosecution, which the office stands fully behind," Smith wrote.
"Indeed, but for Mr Trump's election and imminent return to the presidency, the office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial," he continued. Smith said his team "stood up for the rule of law" and that he stood fully behind his decision to bring criminal charges.
"The throughline of all of Mr Trump's criminal efforts was deceit - knowingly false claims of election fraud - and the evidence shows that Mr Trump used these lies as a weapon to defeat a federal government function foundational to the United States' democratic process," the report states. The report, arriving just days before Trump returns to office on Monday, focused fresh attention on his frantic but failed attempt to cling to power in 2020.
