Jack Smith files new indictment in Trump's January 6th case after Supreme Court ruling
Private citizen Jack Smith has filed a new sham indictment in a desperate attempt to resurrect his January 6th case against Donald Trump.
Smith tailored the indictment to the Supreme Court's historic July ruling that presidents are "absolutely immune" for their official acts.
Smith's new indictment
The new indictment drops claims that Trump pushed the DOJ to pursue "sham" election fraud investigations. The Supreme Court ruled in July that Trump's interactions with the Justice Department were "absolutely" immune.
Smith also removed references to discussions with government officials who told Trump he had lost the election.
"The Defendant was on notice that his claims were untrue," the new indictment says. "He was told so by those most invested in his re-election, including his own running mate and his campaign staff."
Despite the changes, Smith kept the sweeping tone of the old indictment, accusing Trump of spreading "objectively unreasonable" claims about "outcome-determinative" election fraud.
The indictment maintains that Trump broke the law by using Twitter to spread these "knowingly false claims," arguing he used the account for a mix of official and personal purposes. Smith refers to Trump throughout the indictment as a candidate, rather than the president.
"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,” the indictment says.
Election interference
Smith framed the changes as a good faith attempt to respect the Supreme Court's ruling. But Smith also kept allegations about interactions with Vice President Mike Pence that the Supreme Court had found "presumptively immune."
Smith filed the indictment just 70 days before Election Day, and just days before early voting in the presidential election starts in September.
“This is merely an attempt to INTERFERE WITH THE ELECTION, and distract the American People from the catastrophes Kamala Harris has inflicted on our Nation, like the Border Invasion, Migrant Crime, Rampant Inflation, the threat of World War III, and more," Trump wrote in response.
Smith is also appealing a ruling that threw out his classified documents case against Trump. Judge Aileen Cannon found that private citizen Smith was appointed unlawfully to the position of Special Counsel.
Despite his tweaks, Smith's January 6th case is also unlikely to proceed before the election.