He would have been found guilty but elected president: Trump escaped indictment because he won election - US special counsel

He would have been found guilty but elected president: Trump escaped indictment because he won election - US special counsel

Kyiv  •  UNN

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Special Prosecutor Jack Smith said the evidence was sufficient to convict Trump for attempting to overturn the 2020 election results. The case was closed due to Trump's election as president and constitutional immunity.

The publication of the document was met with an immediate reaction from Trump, who in a post on his Truth page called Special Counsel Jack Smith ‘crazy’.

Transmits to UNN with reference to WP.

Details

If Donald Trump had not won the presidential election in November, the Department of Justice would have had enough evidence to charge him with attempting to interfere with the outcome of the 2020 election

- said Special Counsel Jack Smith in a report released Tuesday morning.

The 174-page report, which was seen by some US media and authorized for release by Attorney General Merrick Garland, and opposed by Trump's lawyers, details what is being called "the president-elect's criminal efforts to retain power" after the November 2020 election.

Smith's team unequivocally states that, in their opinion, Trump tried to "undermine the will of the people and overturn the election results.

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Smith also emphasized in his report that closing a case does not reduce the gravity of the crime

The Department's (Justice's) view that the Constitution prohibits the continued indictment and prosecution of the President is categorical and does not depend on the seriousness of the crimes charged, the strength of the government's evidence, or the merits of the prosecution. Indeed, but for the election of Mr. Trump and his imminent return to the presidency, the office has assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction in court

- the special prosecutor said in a statement . 

The report is the last public document on the historic Justice Department indictment that never went to trial. Thus, Trump's re-election in November changed the legal situation, putting an end to the prosecution of the Republican in this case, as well as in a separate one regarding his disposal of top secret documents after leaving the White House.

Jack Smith, who was investigating two federal cases against the Republican president-elect, sent his confidential report on the two cases to Attorney General Merrick Garland on January 7. The official then resigned.

Trump's reaction

Shortly after the report was published on Monday night, Donald Trump reacted with a furious post on his Truth Social platform, calling Jack Smith ‘disturbed’.

‘Dangerous Jack Smith failed to successfully prosecute his political opponent, the corrupt Joe Biden. So he wrote another ‘report’ based on information’ that a group of "corrupt and gangster politicians illegally destroyed and deleted because it showed how completely innocent I am," the message says.

Recall

The Supreme Court has ruled that Trump may have immunity for actions during his presidencyrelated to the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

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