Trump indictment live updates: Jack Smith says Jan 6 ‘fueled by lies’ as Trump hit with 2020 election charges

Donald Trump faces four criminal charges in his latest criminal indictment that was handed up by a grand jury hearing evidence in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The former president was informed shortly beforehand and posted the news on Truth Social that he would soon be indicted. The indictment was initially sealed but quickly became public listing the four charges and describing six co-conspirators.

The Trump 2024 campaign responded to the indictment by comparing the US to Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union, declaring that Mr Trump “will not be deterred by disgraceful and unprecedented political targeting”.

This is Mr Trump’s third criminal indictment, his second federal indictment, and his first for his alleged conduct while in office as president.

Meanwhile, Fani Willis, district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia, has said that her investigation into the 45th president’s energetic efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the Peach State is “ready to go”, suggesting a potential indictment could also be imminent in that case.

Read Trump’s indictment from the January 6 grand jury in full

Key points

• Donald Trump indicted for third time with four criminal charges relating to 2020 election interference

• Read Trump’s indictment from the Jan 6 grand jury in full

• Trump’s rape trial testimony could come back to bite him in hush money case

• Trump’s Save America PAC ‘running out of cash'

• Georgia DA says Trump 2020 election probe is ‘ready to go’

• Mar-a-Lago property manager makes first court appearance

Civil lawsuits target Trump efforts to overturn 2020 loss

09:20 , Namita Singh

Besides criminal charges, former US president Donald Trump faces some civil lawsuits over his effort to overturn his 2020 election loss and for the 6 January 2021 assault on the US Capitol by his supporters.

Here is a look at those lawsuits and where they now stand.

Jan 6 lawsuits

Mr Trump has been sued by Democratic members of Congress and police officers over the Jan 6 riots at the US Capitol.

In one lawsuit, 10 Democrats claimed Mr Trump violated a Civil War-era law by seeking to prevent them from certifying the 2020 election results through the Capitol attack. Democratic representative Eric Swalwell has filed his own lawsuit making similar claims.

At least 14 law enforcement officers are suing Mr Trump over the assault, including 12 US Capitol police officers and two DC police officers. The estate of a Capitol Police officer who died after the attack has also sued the former president.

A federal appeals court in Washington DC is poised to rule on Mr Trump’s claims that he is immune from all of the lawsuits because they relate to actions he took while president. A trial judge in Washington last year rejected that argument, finding that Mr Trump was not immune from the claims.

Civil rights lawsuit

Mr Trump faces a lawsuit in Washington from the NAACP civil rights group, the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization and three Detroit voters alleging he and his 2020 campaign tried to reverse his election loss by disenfranchising minority voters.

The lawsuit, which also names the Republican National Committee as a defendant, argues Mr Trump sought to suppress those votes by urging local officials to stop counting ballots and by raising what it said were “baseless challenges” to some ballots’ validity.

The RNC, Mr Trump and the Trump campaign all asked the court to dismiss the complaint.

A federal judge in Washington last April dismissed a claim that the defendants violated the Voting Rights Act but left a civil rights claim in place.

The parties are now clashing over whether the plaintiffs can amend the lawsuit a second time.

Jack Smith held nothing back in sprawling Trump January 6 indictment

09:00 , Namita Singh

The evidence is overwhelming, but whether Donald Trump will be convicted is up to a jury of his peers, writes our columnist Ahmed Baba.

Jack Smith held nothing back in sprawling Trump January 6 indictment

Trump charges to overturn 2020 election, explained

08:30 , Namita Singh

A four-count federal indictment against Donald Trump accuses the former president of conspiring with his allies to overturn the results of a democratic election and deprive Americans of their constitutional rights in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.

Mr Trump knew he had lost the election but continued to pursue efforts to remain in power, including the so-called alternate elector scheme to fraudulently certify the results submitted to Congress, according to federal prosecutors.

A detailed, 45-page federal indictment on 1 August outlines three criminal conspiracies and Mr Trump’s alleged obstruction of the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, a multi-state scheme built on a legacy of lies and conspiracy theories to undermine the democratic process.

The indictment also lists six unnamed co-conspirators who are likely to include Trump-connected attorneys and former administration officials and advisers.

More here:

Trump charges to overturn 2020 election, explained

How a bombshell leaked tape landed Trump with his latest criminal charge

08:00 , Namita Singh

It’s been two years since Donald Trump sat down for an interview for a new book. Now that conversation is coming back to haunt him. Rachel Sharp reports:

How a bombshell leaked tape landed Trump with his latest criminal charge

Who is Jack Smith? The special prosecutor who just indicted Trump again

07:30 , Namita Singh

Jack Smith, the experienced war crimes prosecutor who unveiled an unprecedented federal indictment against former US president Donald Trump, is no stranger to high-profile probes of public figures.

The US Department of Justice veteran oversaw anti-corruption prosecutions against multiple US politicians in his role as the head of the Department of Justice public integrity section from 2010 to 2015.

One of those cases was against former Virginia governor Robert McDonnell, a Republican against whom he secured a conviction on bribery charges, though the case was later thrown out by the US Supreme Court.

He also won a conviction of former GOP Representative Rick Renzi of Arizona, who received a sentence of three years in prison before being pardoned by Mr Trump.

A Harvard Law School graduate, Mr Smith is now focused on Mr Trump and his inner circle, writes Andrew Feinberg

Who is Jack Smith? The special prosecutor who just indicted Trump again

Fox Business hides Trump indictment under ‘Biden’s scandal distractions’ graphic

07:15 , Namita Singh

Fox Business reportedly buried their coverage of Donald Trump‘s indictment under a graphic accusing president Joe Biden of creating distractions following scandals in his family.

In the graphic blasted on TV screens, “Biden’s Scandal Distractions” can be seen written in red next to Mr Trump’s image followed by a timeline of the former president’s past indictments overlapping row surrounding Mr Biden and his family.

More in this report:

Fox Business hides Trump indictment under ‘Biden’s scandal distractions’ graphic

CNN host rails against Donald Trump comparing prosecutors to Nazis

07:00 , Namita Singh

The Donald Trump campaign’s comparison of the latest criminal charges against him to Nazi Germany is “beyond the pale, in terms of offensiveness and ignorance”, CNN’s Jake Tapper has said.

The former president was indicted on Tuesday on four charges by a grand jury hearing evidence in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

This is Mr Trump’s third criminal indictment, his second federal indictment and his first for his alleged conduct while in office as president.

My colleague Shweta Sharma reports:

CNN host rails against Donald Trump comparing prosecutors to Nazis

Trump campaign compares indictment to ‘persecution’ in Nazi Germany

06:30 , Namita Singh

Donald Trump’s campaign team has issued a statement comparing the recent indictment handed out to the former president over an investigation into the Jan 6 insurrection to Nazi Germany.

“This is nothing more than the latest corrupt chapter in the continued pathetic attempt by the Biden Crime Family and their weaponized Department of Justice to interfere with the 2024 Presidential Election, in which President Trump is the undisputed frontrunner, and leading by substantial margins,” the campaign said.

“The lawlessness of these persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the former Soviet Union, and other authoritarian, dictatorial regimes,” a part of the lengthy statement said.

“President Trump has always followed the law and the Constitution, with advice from many highly accomplished attorneys.”

The judge assigned to Trump’s Jan 6 case is a tough punisher of Capitol rioters

06:00 , Namita Singh

The federal judge assigned to the election fraud case against former president Donald Trump has stood out as one of the toughest punishers of rioters who stormed the US Capitol in an attack fueled by Mr Trump’s baseless claims of a stolen election. She has also ruled against him before.

Mr Trump is to appear on Thursday before US district judge Tanya Chutkan, a former assistant public defender who was nominated to the bench by president Barack Obama. She often has handed down prison sentences in 6 Jauary 2021, riot cases that are harsher than Justice Department prosecutors recommended.

Read more about the judge in this report:

The judge assigned to Trump's Jan. 6 case is a tough punisher of Capitol rioters

Why Trump is charged under a civil right law used to prosecute KKK terror

05:30 , Namita Singh

A historic four-count federal indictment outlines Donald Trump’s sprawling campaign to overturn the results of the 2020 election, culminating in a mob of his supporters storming the halls of Congress to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s election.

He knew he had lost, but he continued to pursue efforts to remain in power, including a so-called alternate elector scheme to fraudulently certify the results submitted to Congress, according to prosecutors.

Mr Trump has been charged with three criminal conspiracies – including a conspiracy to deprive Americans’ right to vote and to have their votes counted, a statute rooted in bedrock civil rights protections enacted in the brutal aftermath of the US Civil War.

Report:

Why Trump is charged under a civil rights law used to prosecute KKK terror

Takeaways from the Trump indictment that alleges a campaign of ‘fraud and deceit’

05:00 , Namita Singh

The indictment of Donald Trump on Tuesday marks the first time that the former president has been formally held accountable for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

And it adds new details to what was already known about his actions, and those of his key allies, in the weeks leading up to the violent 6 January 2021 insurrection.

The newest charges – Mr Trump’s third criminal indictment this year – include conspiracy to defraud the United States government and conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding, the congressional certification of president Joe Biden‘s victory.

It describes how Mr Trump repeatedly told supporters and others that he had won the election, despite knowing that was false, and how he tried to persuade state officials, his own vice president and finally Congress to overturn the legitimate results.

Some takeaways from his indictment in this report:

Takeaways from the Trump indictment that alleges a campaign of 'fraud and deceit'

As Trump indicted, Biden hits fish restaurant, ‘Oppenheimer’ showing

04:30 , Namita Singh

As Donald Trump was being indicted on Tuesday evening for attempting to overturn the 2020 election, the third criminal case against him, US president Joe Biden enjoyed a day at the beach.

Mr Biden rode his bike, ate at a seafood restaurant, saw a movie and took a moonlit stroll on Rehoboth Beach near his Delaware vacation home, while studiously not commenting on the trials and tribulations of his predecessor.

As the indictment was being unsealed, Mr Biden and his wife Jill were headed to Matt’s Fish Camp, a chowder and fried fish restaurant, for an early supper. The pool of reporters who travel with Mr Biden were kept far from the president, allowing him to avoid questions and neatly maintain his long, deliberate silence about his top Republican political opponent’s mounting legal problems.

After dinner, Mr Biden and the first lady saw the movie ‘Oppenheimer’ at a local theatre and then went for a moonlit walk.

As special counsel Jack Smith spoke on Mr Trump’s four criminal counts of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election, the White House and Mr Biden’s re-election campaign declined comment on Tuesday.

“We would refer you to the Justice Department, which conducts its criminal investigations independently,” said Ian Sams, a White House spokesperson.

Mr Trump’s mounting legal woes, and Mr Biden’s silence, come as the two combatants in the 2020 presidential election inch closer to a rematch in November 2024. From a political horse race point of view, Mr Biden is following a well-worn playbook: When your opponent is in trouble, stand clear and avoid any backlash.

Watch: Ramaswamy calls indictment un-American

04:00 , Josh Marcus

GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy comments on Donald Trump’s third indictment:

The corrupt federal police just won’t stop until they’ve achieved their mission: eliminate Trump. This is un-American & I commit to pardoning Trump for this indictment. Donald Trump isn’t the cause of what happened on Jan 6. The real cause was systematic and pervasive censorship of citizens in the year leading up to it. If you tell people they can’t speak, that’s when they scream. If you tell people they can’t scream, that’s when they tear things down. If we fail to admit the truth, Jan 6 will just be a preview of far worse to come & I don’t want to see us get there.

Add another indictment to Donald Trump’s long list of indictments

03:30 , Josh Marcus

Since leaving the White House, Donald Trump has continued to face a cloud of lawsuits and investigations, which could frustrate his hopes to win back the presidency in 2024.

The latest development in a long list of legal scandals came on 1 August when the former president was indicted on four separate federal charges related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the subsequent January 6 attack on the Capitol.

Here are the many, many, many cases against the former president that you need to know about, as compiled by The Independent’s newsroom.

All the investigations and charges Trump still faces as another indictment looms

McCarthy calls indictment attempt to distract from Hunter Biden scandal

03:00 , Josh Marcus

Indictment includes SIX unnamed co-conspirators

02:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Co-Conspirator 1: An attorney who was willing to spread knowingly false claims and pursue strategies that the Defendant’s 2020 re-election campaign attorneys would not.

Co-Conspirator 2: An attorney who devised and attempted to implement a strategy to leverage the Vice President’s ceremonial role overseeing certification proceeding to obstruct the certification of the presidential election.

Co-Conspirator 3: An attorney whose unfounded claims of election fraud the Defendant privately acknowledged to others sounded “crazy.” Nonetheless, the Defendant embraced and publicly amplified Co-Conspirator 3’s disinformation.

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.

Co-Conspirator 5: An attorney who assisted in devising and attempting to implement a plan to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding.

Co-Conspirator 6: A political consultant who helped implement a plan to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding.

02:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia writes:

Former president Donald Trump is all but guaranteed to once again assume the mantle of the Republican standard bearer in the 2024 presidential primary.

On the other side of the aisle, President Joe Biden faces no credible challenge for the Democratic nomination next year, despite some general dissatisfaction among voters with the idea of casting a ballot for him again.

But that means the American public is likely set for another slog of an election that will be incredibly tight.

Read on...

The glaring red flags in Biden’s re-election prospects against Trump

How the DoJ used an obscure civil rights law to prosecute Donald Trump

01:45 , Josh Marcus

A historic four-count federal indictment outlines Donald Trump’s sprawling campaign to overturn the results of the 2020 election, culminating in a mob of his supporters storming the halls of Congress to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s election.

He knew he had lost, but he continued to pursue efforts to remain in power, including a so-called alternate elector scheme to fraudulently certify the results submitted to Congress, according to prosecutors.

Mr Trump has been charged with three criminal conspiracies – including a conspiracy to deprive Americans’ right to vote and to have their votes counted, a statute rooted in bedrock civil rights protections enacted in the brutal aftermath of the US Civil War.

A crime of conspiracy against rights invokes Section 241 of Title 18 of US Code, among criminal codes that came from the Enforcement Acts, also known as the Ku Klux Klan Acts. Those laws were designed to protect Americans’ newly enshrined rights under the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments – allowing the federal government to protect the rights of newly enfranchised Black people to vote, hold office, serve on juries and receive equal protection under the law against white supremacist terror.

Alex Woodward reports.

Why Trump is charged under a civil rights law used to prosecute KKK terror

RFK Jr mocked after it’s revealed half his Super PAC funding comes from GOP mega donor

01:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Robert F Kennedy Jr is facing mockery and criticism after it has been revealed that more than half of his Super PAC funding came from a single Republican mega-donor.

The son of the assassinated Attorney General and New York Senator Robert F Kennedy is running against President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination, with observers giving him little chance of giving the incumbent a real challenge.

Read more...

RFK Jr mocked after half of his Super PAC funding comes from GOP mega donor

Rudy Giuliani weighs in on Trump indictment

01:17 , Josh Marcus

Rudy Giuliani is believed to be one of the unnamed co-conspirators in Tuesday’s special counsel indictment against Donald Trump.

The former mayor of New York served as a key legal adviser to the former president throughout the contentious 2020 presidential campaign.

On Tuesday, Mr Giuliani weighed in on the charges in a lengthy statement from a spokesperson to The Independent.

“Every fact Mayor Rudy Giuliani possesses about this case establishes the good faith basis President Donald Trump had for the actions he took during the two-month period charged in the indictment.This indictment eviscerates the First Amendment and criminalizes the ruling regime’s number one political opponent for daring to ask questions about the 2020 election results.This indictment underscores the tragic reality of our two-tiered justice system—one for the regime in power and the other for anyone who dares to oppose the ruling regime.The news today is particularly egregious in light of the growing evidence proving that Joe Biden and his family made millions of dollars in bribes from America’s most intransigent adversaries.” – Ted Goodman, Political Advisor to Mayor Rudy Giuliani

Schumer and Jeffries say indictment is ‘stark reminder’ no one above law, even president

01:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries released the following statement after Donald Trump was indicted in connection to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election:

The insurrection on January 6, 2021 was one of the saddest and most infamous days in American history, personally orchestrated by Donald Trump and fueled by his insidious Big Lie in an attempt to undermine the 2020 election. In a deadly effort to overturn the will of the American people and block the peaceful transition of power, our nation’s Capitol—the very symbol and home of American patriotism and democracy—fell under attack to thousands of vicious and violent rioters.

The third indictment of Mr Trump illustrates in shocking detail that the violence of that day was the culmination of a months-long criminal plot led by the former president to defy democracy and overturn the will of the American people. This indictment is the most serious and most consequential thus far and will stand as a stark reminder to generations of Americans that no one, including a president of the United States, is above the law. The legal process must continue to move forward without any outside interference.

Fox News goes ballistic over ‘war crime' Trump indictment

00:50 , Josh Marcus

Fox News host Jesse Watters on Tuesday compared the recent special counsel indictment of Donald Trump for allegedly trying to tamper with the 2020 election results to a war crime on the order of atomic bombing or germ warfare.

“This is overkill,” Mr Watters said in a segment on Tuesday. “This is political germ warfare. These are political war crimes. It’s an atrocity. It’s like not just dropping one atomic bomb, you drop 15 dozen.”

On Tuesday, the former president was hit with four federal charges alleging he knew he had lost the presidential election, but continued attempting to mobilise his supporters, fake electors, and lawsuits to challenge the results anyway and cling onto power.

The Trump 2024 campaign responded to the indictment by comparing the US to Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union, declaring that Mr Trump “will not be deterred by disgraceful and unprecedented political targeting”.

More details in our full story.

Jesse Watters calls latest Trump indictment ‘political war crime’ on Fox News

Trump called Pence ‘too honest’ after vice president refused to join 2020 scheme, indictment reveals

00:40 , Josh Marcus

A late-day indictment from Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith charging Donald Trump with crimes related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election has uncovered a revealing conversation between Mr Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence after the latter refused to join in the scheme.

Mr Smith charged Mr Trump with four felony counts related to the election subversion campaign his team ran in the days and weeks after he lost to Joe Biden. Among the DoJ’s lengthy court filing Tuesday evening was a description of a conversation between the former president, dubbed “defendant”, and Mr Pence after the latter had told his boss that using his role as president of the Senate to interfere with the chamber’s certification of the Electoral College vote would be illegal.

According to the indictment, Mr Trump responded by chiding his deputy for supposedly being “too honest”.

In a statement first reported by ABC News, Mr Pence commented on the newest indictment: “Today’s indictment serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States.”

John Bowden has the details.

Trump called Pence ‘too honest’ after vice president refused to join 2020 scheme

Marjorie Taylor Greene calls for Jack Smith’s office to be defunded

00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) led Republicans’ charge against Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office amid news that a federal grand jury had elected to indict former president Donald Trump on four charges for violating the federal criminal code.

Ms Greene posted on X that Mr Smith’s office should be defunded amid the news of the indictment.

Eric Garcia reports.

Marjorie Taylor Greene calls to defund Jack Smith’s office amid Trump indictment

Explained: Trump charges to overturn 2020 election

00:20 , Oliver O'Connell

A four-count federal indictment against Donald Trump accuses the former president of conspiring with his allies to overturn the results of a democratic election and deprive Americans of their constitutional rights in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.

Mr Trump knew he had lost the election but continued to pursue efforts to remain in power, including the so-called alternate elector scheme to fraudulently certify the results submitted to Congress, according to federal prosecutors.

A detailed, 45-page federal indictment on 1 August outlines three criminal conspiracies and Mr Trump’s alleged obstruction of the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, a multi-state scheme built on a legacy of lies and conspiracy theories to undermine the democratic process.

The indictment also lists six unnamed co-conspirators who are likely to include Trump-connected attorneys and former administration officials and advisers.

Charges include conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

Alex Woodward explains.

Trump charges to overturn 2020 election, explained

Hutchinson: ‘Trump is morally responsible for the attack on our democracy'

00:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Longshot GOP presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson comments on the indictment:

I have always said that Donald Trump is morally responsible for the attack on our democracy. Now, with today’s indictment, our system of Justice will determine whether he is criminally responsible.

DeSantis says new Trump indictment ‘unfair’... while pushing his own campaign

00:00 , Oliver O'Connell

After Special Counsel Jack Smith handed down yet another indictment against former President Donald Trump—this time with criminal charges over 2020 election interference—fellow 2024 presidential candidate Ron DeSantis took the opportunity to defend Mr Trump, as well as make campaign promises.

Kelly Rissman reports.

DeSantis calls new Trump indictment ‘unfair’ - while pushing his own campaign

Pelosi: Charges in indictment ‘very serious’ but must play out through legal process

23:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi comments on the latest Trump indictment:

Full story: Jack Smith says Jan 6 was ‘unprecedented attack’ on democracy as grand jury indicts Trump

23:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Special Counsel Jack Smith said in a statement that the insurrection on January 6 was an “unprecedented attack” on democracy.

The prosecutor spoke following the indictment of former President Donald Trump in relation to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

Gustaf Kilander has the latest.

Jack Smith says Jan 6 was ‘unprecedented attack’ on democracy as Trump indicted

Watch: Attorney General Merrick Garland comments on indictment

23:38 , Oliver O'Connell

Trump calls indictment ‘ridiculous’ says he will ‘fight’ and ‘win'

23:36 , Oliver O'Connell

ABC’s John Santucci spoke with former president Donald Trump:

Trump repeatedly told there was no mass election fraud

23:27 , Oliver O'Connell

In the latest indictment, prosecutors list high-profile officials who told then-president Donald Trump there was no mass election fraud.

They include:

- Mike Pence

- Senior DOJ leaders Trump appointed

- The director of national intelligence

- The DHS agency that oversees cybersecurity

- Senior White House attorneys selected by Trump

- State legislators and officials

- State and federal courts

23:22 , Oliver O'Connell

Jack Smith says the Department of Justice will seek a speedy trial, that the defendant is innocent until proven guilty, and that “our investigation of other individuals continues”.

Mr Smith encourages everyone to read the indictment in full.

Read Trump’s indictment from the Jan 6 grand jury in full

23:17 , Oliver O'Connell

Special Counsel Jack Smith:

“The attack on our nation’s Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy. As described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies. Lies by the defendant, targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the US government the nation’s process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election.”

“The men and women of law enforcement who defended the US Capitol on January 6 are heroes. They are patriots and they are the very best of us. They did not just defend a building or the people sheltering in it. They did not just defend a building or the people sheltering in it. They defended the very institutions and principles that define the United States.”

Judge in federal case is Obama appointee

23:13 , Oliver O'Connell

Full story: Trump charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction in Jan 6 probe

23:10 , Oliver O'Connell

A Washington DC grand jury has voted to charge former president Donald Trump with four counts of violating three sections of the federal criminal code as he and a group of allies schemed to find a way to somehow keep him in the White House for a second term despite losing the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden.

Andrew Feinberg has the latest from Washington, DC.

Trump indicted for conspiracy to defraud the United States in Jan 6 probe

LIVE: Watch as Jack Smith addresses Trump indictment on four charges relating to Jan 6 probe

23:05 , Oliver O'Connell

Watch live from outside Washington DC district court as Trump indictment looms

DeSantis reacts to indictment, says ‘unfair’ for Americans to stand trial in ‘swamp DC’

23:01 , Oliver O'Connell

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former president Donald Trump’s main rival in the 2024 GOP primary, released the following statement:

As President, I will end the weaponization of government, replace the FBI Director, and ensure a single standard of justice for all Americans.

While I’ve seen reports, I have not read the indictment. I do, though, believe we need to enact reforms so that Americans have the right to remove cases from Washington, DC to their home districts.

Washington, DC is a “swamp” and it is unfair to have to stand trial before a jury that is reflective of the swamp mentality.

One of the reasons our country is in decline is the politicization of the rule of law. No more excuses—I will end the weaponization of the federal government.

What is the focus of the new Trump indictment?

22:58 , Oliver O'Connell

From the indictment:

From on or about November 14, 2020, through on or about January 20, 2021, in the District of Columbia and elsewhere, the Defendant, DONALD J. TRUMP, did knowingly combine, conspire, confederate, and agree with co-conspirators, known and unknown to the Grand Jury, to defraud the United States by using dishonesty, fraud, and deceit to impair, obstruct, and defeat the lawful federal government function by which the results of the presidential election are collected, counted, and certified by the federal government.

Special counsel Jack Smith to make statement soon

22:56 , Oliver O'Connell

Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith will speak live at 6pm to deliver a statement on the United States V Donald J Trump.

Read the full indictment here.

Read Trump’s indictment from the Jan 6 grand jury in full

Watch the special counsel’s statement here.

Indictment includes SIX unnamed co-conspirators

22:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Co-Conspirator 1: An attorney who was willing to spread knowingly false claims and pursue strategies that the Defendant’s 2020 re-election campaign attorneys would not.

Co-Conspirator 2: An attorney who devised and attempted to implement a strategy to leverage the Vice President’s ceremonial role overseeing certification proceeding to obstruct the certification of the presidential election.

Co-Conspirator 3: An attorney whose unfounded claims of election fraud the Defendant privately acknowledged to others sounded “crazy.” Nonetheless, the Defendant embraced and publicly amplified Co-Conspirator 3’s disinformation.

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.

Co-Conspirator 5: An attorney who assisted in devising and attempting to implement a plan to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding.

Co-Conspirator 6: A political consultant who helped implement a plan to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding.

Watch: Moment Trump’s third indictment confirmed

22:46 , Oliver O'Connell

Statement from Trump campaign

22:44 , Oliver O'Connell

This is nothing more than the latest corrupt chapter in the continued pathetic attempt by the Biden Crime Family and their weaponized Department of Justice to interfere with the 2024 Presidential Election, in which President Trump is the undisputed frontrunner, and leading by substantial margins.

But why did they wait two and a half years to bring these fake charges, right in the middle of President Trump's winning campaign for 2024? Why was it announced the day after the big Crooked Joe Biden scandal broke out from the Halls of Congress?

The answer is, election interference! The lawlessness of these persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the former Soviet Union, and other authoritarian, dictatorial regimes. President Trump has always followed the law and the Constitution, with advice from many highly accomplished attorneys.

These un-American witch hunts will fail and President Trump will be re-elected to the White House so he can save our Country from the abuse, incompetence, and corruption that is running through the veins of our Country at levels never seen before.

Three years ago we had strong borders, energy independence, no inflation, and a great economy.

Today, we are a nation in decline. President Trump will not be deterred by disgraceful and unprecedented political targeting!

Trump indicted on four criminal counts in new federal indictment

22:37 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has been indicted on four criminal counts:

- Conspiracy to defraud the United States

- Conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding

- Obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding

- Conspiracy against rights

Trump informed he has been indicted, report says

22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Former President Trump has been informed he has been indicted by a federal grand jury regarding the special counsel’s probe into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, sources with direct knowledge tell ABC News.

Grand jury hands up sealed case

22:15 , Oliver O'Connell

The Department of Justice has received a sealed indictment in the Washington, DC District Court.

Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya did not read the initials of the defendant or the number of the case. That request was made by AUSA Molly Gaston, who is detailed to the Special Counsel’s office.

The DOJ has requested a summons but not an arrest warrant. No names have been read out in court.

Developing story: Trump claims special counsel will indict him over January 6 on Tuesday evening

22:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump says a third criminal indictment against him will become public at 5.00 pm ET, just hours after the Washington, DC grand jury hearing evidence in the probe into his attempts to overturn the 2020 election ended work for the day.

Trump claims special counsel will indict him over January 6 on Tuesday evening

Trump adds...

22:01 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president fired out another Truth Social post as we await news from the Prettyman Courthouse in Washington, DC.

Also, why are they putting out another Fake Indictment the day after the Crooked Joe Biden SCANDAL, one of the biggest in American history, broke out in the Halls of Congress??? A Nation In Decline!

Courtroom filling up at Prettyman courthouse

21:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Trump announces he has heard new indictment coming at 5pm

21:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump has announced that he has heard he will be the subject of a new indictment by Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith when it is announced at 5pm today. The long-expected indictment covers alleged interference in the 2020 election leading up to the riot at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.

Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social:

I hear that Deranged Jack Smith, in order to interfere with the Presidential Election of 2024, will be putting out yet another Fake Indictment of your favorite President, me, at 5:00 P.M. Why didn’t they do this 2.5 years ago? Why did they wait so long? Because they wanted to put it right in the middle of my campaign. Prosecutorial Misconduct!

More follows...