Donald Trump faces new charges in 2020 election campaign

Unlock the US Election Countdown newsletter for free

The most important stories about money and politics in the race for the White House

US prosecutors have filed revised charges against Donald Trump for his alleged attempts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election, seeking to comply with a Supreme Court ruling that grants presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution.

The charges, filed by special counsel Jack Smith in federal court in Washington on Tuesday, came weeks after the Supreme Court ruled that the case must be reviewed by a federal judge to determine which elements constituted “official acts” for which Trump could not be impeached.

It contains the same four core charges that Smith brought against the former president last year in connection with the aftermath of the 2020 election and the period leading up to the attack by a mob of his supporters on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

However, the indictment lacks certain allegations that Trump instructed his Justice Department to declare the election results fraudulent, as well as his conversations with Attorney General Jeffrey Clark, whom Trump wanted to make Attorney General.

The case was presented “to a new grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in this case” and “reflects the government’s efforts to respect and implement the Supreme Court’s decisions,” Smith wrote to the court on Tuesday.

Smith, who was appointed to lead the US Justice Department’s investigation into Trump, has faced a series of setbacks in his attempt to bring two criminal cases against the former president ahead of the November election, in which Trump is the Republican Party’s nominee.

Trump’s team had asked the Supreme Court to protect him from prosecution for his actions during his presidency. In July, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority ruled that “certain allegations – such as those involving Trump’s conversations with the acting Attorney General – are readily categorized given the nature of the President’s official relationship with the office held by that person” and should be struck from the indictment.

The Supreme Court asked Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over the case, to analyze the indictment and prohibit the taking of any “official acts” before a trial could begin, indicating that it did not expect the proceedings to be rushed.

Smith’s team is also trying to revive another federal criminal case against Trump, over the alleged storage of secret documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. The judge presiding over that case, Aileen Cannon, summarily dismissed the charges after agreeing with Trump’s lawyers that Smith’s appointment without the express approval of Congress was unconstitutional.

Only one of the four charges brought against Trump last year went to trial – a case brought by the Manhattan district attorney for falsifying business records to conceal payments to porn star Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.

Trump is scheduled to be sentenced in the case in September, but the verdict could be delayed further as the judge must decide whether the Supreme Court’s decision will affect the verdict.

Last week, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg did not oppose the defense’s request for a delay while it challenged the prosecution’s introduction of alleged “official acts” into the trial.

If the delay is successful, Trump may not face further criminal charges before the November election. Polls have him trailing Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

Separately, a New York appeals court is scheduled to consider next month whether Trump is required to pay more than $450 million after being found guilty of fraud in a civil case brought by the state’s attorney general.