XPost: alt.politics.elections, alt.politics.trump, talk.politics.guns   
   XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, sac.politics   
   From: jackasssmith@eeyore.com   
      
   Special counsel Jack Smith has charged former President Donald Trump in a   
   superseding indictment in his federal election interference case that   
   charges him with the same offenses in the original indictment, but is   
   adjusted to the Supreme Court's recent presidential immunity ruling.   
      
   "The superseding indictment, which was presented to a new grand jury that   
   had not previously heard evidence in this case, reflects the Government's   
   efforts to respect and implement the Supreme Court's holdings and remand   
   instructions," a Justice Department spokesperson said Tuesday.   
      
   Trump last August pleaded not guilty to federal charges of undertaking a   
   "criminal scheme" to overturn the results of the 2020 election to remain   
   in power. Last month, in a blockbuster decision, the U.S. Supreme Court   
   ruled that Trump is entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution for   
   official acts undertaken while in office, and sent the case back to the   
   trial court to sort out which charges against him can stand.   
      
   In a separate filing Tuesday, the special counsel said he does not oppose   
   waiving Trump's appearance for an arraignment on the superseding   
   indictment.   
      
   While the original indictment laid out five ways Trump allegedly   
   obstructed the function of the federal government -- having state election   
   officials change electoral votes, arranging fraudulent slates of electors,   
   using the Department of Justice to conduct "sham" investigations,   
   enlisting the Vice President to obstruct the certification of the   
   election, and exploiting the chaos of the Jan. 6 riot -- the new   
   indictment removes mention of his use of the Department of Justice, which   
   was explicitly mentioned in the Supreme Court's ruling as falling within   
   his official duties.   
      
   While the original indictment mentions the Justice Department on over 30   
   occasions, the new indictment makes no mention of the DOJ.   
      
   It also reframes the portion of the original indictment outlining that   
   Trump allegedly knew his claims of election fraud were false.   
      
   The original indictment included how multiple federal officials --   
   including the vice president, members of the Department of Justice, the   
   Director of National Intelligence, and several White House attorneys --   
   notified Trump that his claims about the election were false. The   
   superseding indictment removes most of those mentions, saying, "The   
   Defendant was on notice that his claims were untrue. He was told so by   
   those most invested in his re-election, including his own running mate and   
   his campaign staff."   
      
   "The defendant used his campaign to repeat and widely disseminate them   
   anyway, to make his knowingly false claims appear legitimate, create an   
   intense national atmosphere of mistrust and anger and erode public faith   
   in the administration of the election," says the new indictment, adding   
   that those aiding Trump were "acting in a private capacity" and that none   
   of them "were government officials during the conspiracies."   
      
   In multiple places, Smith's new indictment adds clarifying language to   
   state when he believes Trump was clearly acting outside of his official   
   duties, saying, for instance, that Trump "had no official responsibilities   
   related to any state's certification of the election results" and   
   highlighting when Trump was allegedly acting "not as President but in his   
   capacity as a candidate for office."   
      
   The superseding indictment also removes key allegations about Trump’s   
   refusal to act as rioters stormed the Capitol.   
      
   The new indictment no longer includes allegations that Trump refused   
   advisers’ requests to send a message calling off rioters and that Trump   
   later refused to withdraw his objections to the certification despite the   
   plea of his White House counsel.   
      
   The new indictment is 36 pages, while the original indictment was 45.   
      
   It comes just days after Smith, in a filing, urged the Eleventh Circuit   
   Court of Appeals to reverse a federal judge's surprise dismissal of   
   Trump's classified documents case, which Smith is also overseeing.   
      
   https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trump-charged-superseding-   
   indictment-federal-election-subversion/story?id=113193224   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
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