Donald Trump Indicted, Charged With 4 Counts Of Interfering With 2020 Election
Former president Donald Trump has been indicted for the third time this year, this time for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden.
A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. brought a total of four charges against Trump, including 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. The indictment alleges that Trump "pursued unlawful means of discounting legitimate votes and subverting the election results" in an effort to remain in the Oval Office, despite the fact that he lost the election. It also covers Trump's alleged role in inciting the January 6th Capitol riot, when Trump's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, attacking police officers and vandalizing the building in an effort to keep Congress from certifying Biden's victory. Trump is expected to surrender to authorities on Thursday.
In April, Trump was arrested and charged with 34 felony counts related to hush money payments made to women with whom he allegedly had sexual encounters; he pleaded not guilty and was released. Those charges brought by the Manhattan district attorney stemmed from Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen testifying that he paid adult film actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal to stay silent about affairs they allegedly had with Trump a decade earlier.
Then in June, Trump was arrested and charged again, this time with 37 felony counts involving his alleged mishandling of classified documents after he left office in January 2021. Trump's valet Walt Nauta was also arrested and charged in that case. Trump again pleaded not guilty and was released. These charges accused Trump of keeping classified documents in boxes stored at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, showing them to people without a security clearance and not returning them when asked.
Despite these indictments, Trump is still running to be the Republican nominee for president in the 2024 election, and the latest polls have him as the clear frontrunner to lead the party ticket.