Former US president Donald Trump on Tuesday was indicted on felony charges for allegedly working to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The four-count indictment says that Trump sought to exploit protests at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, by pointing to it as a reason to further delay the counting of votes.
The indictment has charges of conspiring to defraud the US, conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding, obstructing an official proceeding and violating a civil rights statute that makes it a crime to conspire to violate rights that are guaranteed by the US constitution — in this case, the right to vote.
Photo: AFP
“The attack on our nation’s Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy,” US Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith said. “It was fueled by lies, lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the US government: The nation’s process of collecting counting and certifying the results of the presidential election.”
The Trump campaign for next year’s presidential election called the charges “fake” and asked why it took two-and-a-half years to bring them.
Trump was the only person charged in Tuesday’s indictment, but prosecutors obliquely referenced a half-dozen co-conspirators, including lawyers inside and outside of government who they said had worked with Trump to undo the election results.
They also advanced plans to enlist electors in battleground states to claim that Trump had actually won them.
Trump is due in court today, the first step in a legal process that is to play out in a courthouse in Washington.
A conviction in this case, or any other, would not prevent Trump from pursuing the White House or serving as president, although Trump as president could theoretically appoint an attorney-general to dismiss the charges or potentially try to pardon himself.
Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Trump lawyer who pursued post-election legal challenges, spoke voluntarily to prosecutors.
Giuliani was not named in the indictment, but appears to match the description of one of the co-conspirators.
A spokesman for Giuliani said that Trump had a “good-faith basis” for the actions he took.
Donald Trump’s attorney John Lauro called the indictment “an attack on free speech and political advocacy.”
Lauro said in an interview on CNN that it is “an effort to not only criminalize, but also to censor free speech.”
Trump was being told by people after the 2020 presidential election “that there were problems” with it and “he also saw in real time that the rules were changing without the state legislatures weighing in,” Lauro added.
Taiwan last night blanked world No. 1 Japan 4-0 to win the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 for the first time. Taiwanese ace Lin Yu-min (林昱珉) held defending champions Japan to just one hit and no runs in the first four innings, before catcher Lin Chia-cheng (林家正) opened the fifth inning with a solo home run. That was soon followed by a three-run homer from Taiwanese captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) to put Taiwan ahead in the prestigious tournament of the world’s top 12 baseball teams. In addition to a superb performance from 21-year-old Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Lin, three more Taiwanese pitchers
Taiwan yesterday advanced to the gold medal match of the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 for the first time in history, despite last night losing 9-6 to Japan. Taiwan advanced after the US defeated Venezuela in the first game on the last day of the Super Round. However, the US had no chance of advancing to the championship game unless it defeated Venezuela by at least nine points. The US won 6-5. As a result, the two teams — who both had one win and two losses in the Super Round — are to face off again in the
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday held an equipment installation ceremony for its first 2-nanometer fab in Kaohsiung, six months ahead of schedule, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said. “To cope with the strong global demand for advanced chips, TSMC is to start moving in equipment for its first-ever 2-nanometer fab half a year earlier than scheduled,” Chen said at an question-and-answer session at the Kaohsiung City Council. TSMC’s 2-nanometer process technology would help accelerate the development of artificial intelligence (AI) applications as well as the transformation of local industries in Kaohsiung, Chen said in a
TEAM TAIWAN: While lawmakers proposed declaring Nov. 24 a national day, the CPBL commissioner urged the legislature to pass the budget for sports development Lawmakers yesterday proposed designating Nov. 24 as National Baseball Day and updating the design of the NT$500 bill to honor the national team’s victory in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12 championship on Sunday, as thousands of fans came out to see the players parade down the streets of Taipei. Players, coaches and staff from the national team returned home on Monday night after achieving their best-ever performance in an international baseball tournament. After receiving a rapturous welcome at the airport, the players turned out yesterday for a street parade in front of thousands of adoring fans waving Taiwanese flags and
RSS