Trump Indicted on 4 Counts by Special Counsel Jack Smith

Special counsel Jack Smith's Washington, D.C., grand jury has delivered a four-count, 45-page indictment against former President Donald Trump and listed six unnamed co-conspirators.

Count 1: Conspiracy to Defraud the U.S.
Count 2: Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding.
Count 3: Obstruction of and Attempt to Obstruct and Official Proceeding.
Count 4: Conspiracy Against Rights.

Federal prosecutors say Trump was "determined to remain in power" in conspiracies that targeted a "bedrock function of the United States federal government: the nation's process of collecting, counting, and certifying the results of the presidential election."

Trump is due in court on Thursday before U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan.

Co-conspirator 1: Attorney.
Co-conspirator 2: Attorney.
Co-conspirator 3: Attorney.
Co-conspirator 4: DOJ Official.
Co-conspirator 5: Attorney.
Co-conspirator 6: Political consultant.

The charges focus on the turbulent two months after the November 2020 election in which Trump refused to accept his loss, claiming the election was stolen from him.

In between the election and the Capitol protest, Trump urged local election officials to challenge voting results in their states and sought to have former Vice President Mike Pence to debate the certification of electoral votes.

Rudy Giuliani, a Trump lawyer who pursued post-election legal challenges, spoke voluntarily to prosecutors as part of a proffer agreement, in which a person's statements cannot be used against them in any future criminal case that is brought.

Prosecutors also interviewed election officials in Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, and elsewhere who came under pressure from Trump and his associates to change voting results in states won by Biden, a Democrat.

"I hear that Deranged Jack Smith, in order to interfere with the presidential election of 2024, will be putting out yet another fake indictment of your favorite president, me, at 5:00 P.M.," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post before the indictment. "Why didn't they do this 2.5 years ago? Why did they wait so long? Because they wanted to put it right in the middle of my campaign. Prosecutorial misconduct!"

Trump already faces criminal charges in two other cases as he campaigns to regain the presidency next year. He is the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

"Also, why are they putting out another fake indictment the day after the Crooked Joe Biden scandal, one of the biggest in American history, broke out in the halls of Congress?" Trump added in an ensuing post. "A nation in decline!"

A detailed Trump campaign statement was posted to Truth Social:

"This is nothing more than the latest corrupt chapter in the continued pathetic attempt by the Biden Crime Family and their weaponized Department of Justice to interfere with the 2024 Presidential Election, in which President Trump is the undisputed frontrunner, and leading by substantial margins.

"But why did they wait two and a half years to bring these fake charges, right in the middle of President Trump’s winning campaign for 2024? Why was it announced the day after the big Crooked Joe Biden scandal broke out from the Halls of Congress?

"The answer is, election interference! The lawlessness of these persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the former Soviet Union, and other authoritarian, dictatorial regimes. President Trump has always followed the law and the Constitution, with advice from many highly accomplished attorneys.

"These un-American witch hunts will fail and President Trump will be re-elected to the White House so he can save our Country from the abuse, incompetence, and corruption that is running through the veins of our Country at levels never seen before.

"Three years ago we had strong borders, energy independence, no inflation, and a great economy. Today, we are a nation in decline. President Trump will not be deterred by disgraceful and unprecedented political targeting!"

A federal prosecutor who has worked on investigations related to Jan. 6, 2021, protest at the U.S. Capitol said an indictment has been returned.

Molly Gaston, an assistant U.S. attorney, revealed the existence of an indictment to a federal magistrate. She did not say whom was indicted or for what.

Smith has been investigating allegations Trump and his allies sought to challenge Democrat rival Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election.

Trump on July 18 said he had received a letter from Smith telling him he was a target of the Jan. 6 grand jury investigation in Washington. He has characterized the probe, as well as the other cases against him, as part of a politically motivated witch-hunt.

Smith, who was appointed as special counsel in November by Attorney General Merrick Garland, previously charged Trump with unlawfully retaining classified government documents after leaving office in January 2021 and obstructing justice.

Information from The Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report.