Trump Would Have Been Convicted If Not Elected, DOJ Report Reveals.
President-elect Donald Trump faced an investigation led by special counsel Jack Smith
Donald Trump would have been convicted of illegally attempting to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost, had he not been re-elected in 2024, according to a report by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
The evidence against the former president was “sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial,” Smith wrote in his partially released report. However, Trump dismissed the findings, labelling Smith as “deranged” and the report’s contents as “fake.”
Trump was implicated in pressuring officials to reverse the 2020 election outcome, spreading known falsehoods about election fraud, and attempting to capitalise on the chaos of the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
After losing the presidency in 2020, Trump spent four years out of office before securing another term in the 2024 election. He is set to return to the White House next week. With his victory in the recent election, numerous legal challenges against him have dissolved, including the case on election interference.
Smith’s report, which was sent to Congress after midnight on Tuesday, underscores his belief in the strength of the prosecution’s case. It was only the constitutional protection against prosecuting a sitting president that led to the case’s dismissal. “But for Mr Trump’s election [in 2024] and imminent return to the presidency, the office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial,” Smith stated.
The report further details Trump’s “unprecedented efforts to unlawfully retain power” through what it describes as “threats and encouragement of violence against his perceived opponents”. It also highlights the significant challenges investigators faced, including Trump’s use of social media to influence witnesses, courts, and DOJ employees.
Smith refuted claims of political motivation by asserting, “The claim from Mr Trump that my decisions as a prosecutor were influenced or directed by the [President Joe] Biden administration or other political actors is, in a word, laughable.”
Despite the legal proceedings, Trump maintained his innocence on his Truth Social platform, claiming a “landslide” victory in the election and stating, “THE VOTERS HAVE SPOKEN!!!”
Jack Smith has since resigned from the Department of Justice. Meanwhile, Trump has avoided both prison and fines in a separate hush-money case.
The interference case and another involving Trump’s retention of classified documents at his Florida home were closed due to DOJ regulations that prohibit prosecuting a sitting president. However, the report’s second part, which concerns these documents, remains under judicial review for potential release.
This legal saga has left Trump’s associates, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, in a precarious position, with their cases still pending. Their legal teams argued against the release of Smith’s report, citing potential prejudice to their clients’ upcoming trials.
(Source: Reuters)
