ReutersPresident-elect Donald Trump would have been convicted of illegally trying to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election – which he lost – if he had not been successfully re-elected in 2024, according to the man who led the US government’s investigations against him.
The evidence against Trump was “sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial,” special prosecutor Jack Smith wrote in a partially released report.
Trump responded, saying Smith was “disturbed” and his conclusions were “false.”
Trump has been accused of pressuring officials to overturn the 2020 results, knowingly spreading lies about election fraud, and seeking to exploit the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Trump, who was president at the time of the alleged crimes, then spent four years out of office – but was successfully re-elected to the White House in November. He will return to the presidency next week.
After his success in the 2024 vote, the various legal issues he grappled with have largely evaporated. The interference case has now been dismissed.
Smith states in the report that he “fully supports” the merits of the charge and the strength of the case.
He added that it was only the fact that the US Constitution prohibits prosecuting a sitting president that stopped it.
“But for the election of Mr. Trump [in 2024] and the imminent return to the presidency, the office found that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and maintain a conviction at trial.”
Some elements of Smith’s report were already known thanks to a public document released in October, which gave details of Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn his defeat.
But the report, which was released by the Department of Justice (DoJ) to Congress, provides more detail about why Smith pursued the case and ultimately closed it.
- He justifies the prosecution of Trump by accusing him of “unprecedented efforts to illegally retain power” through “threats and encouragement of violence against his perceived opponents.”
- Mr. Trump’s “criminal efforts” were marked by allegations of election fraud that he knew were false, the report said.
- The report details “significant challenges” facing investigators, including Trump’s use of social media to target witnesses, courts and Justice Department employees.
- Denying the case was politically motivated, Smith says: “Mr. Trump’s assertion that my decisions as prosecutor were influenced or directed by the [President Joe] The Biden administration or other political actors are, in a word, laughable”
- Smith further reflects in the cover letter: “While we have not been able to bring the cases we have charged to trial, I believe the fact that our team has stood up for the rule of law is important . »
The 137-page document was sent to Congress after midnight Tuesday, after a period of legal wrangling that culminated in a judge clearing the way for the release of the first part of Smith’s report.
The judge, Aileen Cannon, ordered a hearing later this week to decide whether to release the second part of the report, which focuses on separate allegations that Trump illegally kept classified government documents at his Florida home .
On his Truth Social website, Trump maintained his innocence, mocking Smith by writing that the prosecutor “couldn’t get his case tried before the election, which I won in a landslide.”
Trump added: “THE VOTERS HAVE SPOKE!!! »
Smith was appointed in 2022 to oversee the U.S. government’s investigations into Trump. Special advisors are chosen by the DoJ in cases where there is a potential conflict of interest.
In the interference case, Trump was accused of conspiring to overturn the result of the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden.
That case and the separate classified documents case resulted in criminal charges against Trump, who has pleaded not guilty and sought to portray the prosecution as politically motivated.
But Smith closed the cases after Trump’s election in November, in accordance with Justice Department regulations that prohibit prosecuting a sitting president.
The report explains: “The ministry’s view that [US] The Constitution’s prohibition on further indictment and prosecution of a president is categorical and does not depend on the seriousness of the crimes charged, the strength of the government’s case, or the merits of the prosecution, which the office fully supports.
He adds that prosecutors found themselves at a crossroads: “The [2024] The election results raised the question of legality for the first time when a private citizen who had already been indicted was subsequently elected president.
Tuesday’s release comes after a period of legal back-and-forth, during which Judge Cannon temporarily suspended the release of the entire Smith report over concerns it would affect the cases of two accused Trump associates of him in the case of separate classified documents. .
Walt Nauta, Trump’s personal assistant, and Carlos De Oliveira, Mar-a-Lago’s property manager, are accused of helping Trump hide the documents.
Unlike Trump’s, their cases are still ongoing — and their lawyers have argued that releasing Smith’s report could prejudice a future jury and trial.
