BREAKING: Jack Smith files superseding indictment against Trump in J6 case

A Washington, DC grand jury on Tuesday returned a superseding indictment in the January 6 case against Trump, charging him with the same four counts he had been charged with over one year prior by a different grand jury.

The 36-page superseding indictment charges Trump with Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding, Obstruction of and Attempt to Obstruct an Official Proceeding, and Conspiracy Against Rights.

In a court filing, special counsel Jack Smith’s office wrote that the superseding indictment "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 holdings and remand instructions in Trump v. United States."

In July, the Supreme Court ruled in the presidential immunity case brought forth by Trump’s team in relation to the J6 case that a former president does have absolute immunity for his core constitutional powers, though not for unofficial acts. The case was then handed back down to determine whether the actions Trump is being prosecuted are official or unofficial acts. That process in the lower court has not begun.

In the newest indictment, prosecutors wrote that "the Defendant had no official responsibilities related to the certification proceeding, but he did have a personal interest as a candidate in being named the winner of the election."

Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over the case, agreed in early August to a delay in the case as prosecutors were still assessing the impact of the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling, with Chutkan setting a hearing for September 5.

The latest indictment removed a section on alleged attempts to use the "power and authority of the Justice Department to conduct sham election crime investigations and to send a letter to the targeted states that falsely claimed that the Justice Department had identified significant concerns that may have impacted the election outcome," after the Supreme Court ruled that "Trump is absolutely immune from prosecution for the alleged conduct involving his discussions with Justice Department officials."

The indictment also removes reference to co-conspirator 4, "a Justice Department official who worked on civil matters and who, with the Defendant, attempted to use the Justice Department to open sham election crime investigations and influence state legislatures with knowingly false claims of election fraud."

The superseding indictment alleged that Trump, "despite having lost" was "determined to remain in power" after the 2020 election, and "spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that he had actually won" in the months following the election.

"These claims were false, and the Defendant knew that they were false. But 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."

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Superseding Indictment by Hannah Nightingale on Scribd