The conspiracy doesn’t have to be successful, meaning the fraud doesn’t have to actually affect the election. The provision was originally part of a set of laws passed in 1870 in response to violence and intimidation by members of the Ku Klux Klan aimed at keeping Black people from the polls.īut it has has been used over the years in a wide-range of election fraud cases, including to prosecute conspiracies to stuff ballot boxes or not count certain votes. It’s punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Trump is accused of violating a post-Civil War era civil rights statute that makes it a crime to conspire to interfere with rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution, in this case: the right to vote and have one’s vote counted. WHAT IS THE ‘CONSPIRACY AGAINST RIGHTS’ CHARGE? “Each of these conspiracies - which built on the widespread mistrust the Defendant was creating through pervasive and destabilizing lies about election fraud - 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,” the indictment says. 6 approached, Trump and his allies pressured Vice President Mike Pence to reject certain electoral votes, and when that failed, the former president directed his supporters to go to the Capitol to obstruct Congress’ certification of the vote, the indictment alleges.įinally, the indictment says, Trump and his allies tried to exploit his supporters’ attack on the Capitol by redoubling their efforts to spread election lies and convince members of Congress to further delay the certification of Biden’s victory. Trump and his allies also attempted to use the Justice Department to conduct bogus election-fraud investigations in order to boost his fake electors’ scheme, the indictment says.Īs Jan. The indictment alleges a weekslong plot that began with pressure on state lawmakers and election officials to change electoral votes from Biden to Trump, and then evolved into organizing fake slates of pro-Trump electors to be sent to Congress. The charges, however, stem from what prosecutors say were illegal efforts to subvert the election results and block the peaceful transfer of power. Trump had the right to contest the election - and even falsely claim that he had won, indictment says. The indictment alleges that Trump used “dishonesty, fraud and deceit” to obstruct the counting and certifying of the election results. More than 100 people have been convicted at trial or pleaded guilty to the offense.Ĭonspiracy to defraud the U.S., which is punishable by up to five years in prison, prohibits efforts to obstruct or interfere with government functions “by deceit, craft or trickery, or at least by means that are dishonest,” the Supreme Court has held. 6 riot, including members of the far-right Oath Keepers and Proud Boys extremist groups. That obstruction charge has been brought against hundreds of the more than 1,000 people charged in the Jan. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding also carries a maximum of 20 years in prison. 6, 2021, joint session of Congress at which electoral votes were counted in order to certify Biden as the official winner. In the obstruction charge - which carries penalties of up to 20 years in prison - the official proceeding refers to the Jan. and conspiracy to prevent others from carrying out their constitutional rights. Trump is charged with four counts: obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Here’s a look at the charges Trump faces and other key issues in the indictment: Trump has said he did nothing wrong, and has accused Smith and the Justice Department of trying to harm his 2024 campaign. But it’s the first case to try to hold Trump responsible for his efforts to remain in power during the chaotic weeks between his election loss and the attack by his supporters on the U.S. It’s the third time this year the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary has been charged in a criminal case. The felony charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith are built around the words of White House lawyers and others in his inner circle who repeatedly told Trump there was no fraud. Manage Print Subscription / Tax Receipt.
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