🎈 Up Big Today: Find today's biggest gainers with our free screenerTry Stock Screener

More evidence released in Trump election subversion case

Published 10/18/2024, 11:25 AM
Updated 10/18/2024, 03:12 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Pro-Trump protesters storm into the U.S. Capitol during clashes with police, during a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by the U.S. Congress, in Washington, U.S, January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Shannon

By Andrew Goudsward

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday made public more evidence collected by prosecutors in the federal criminal case accusing former President Donald Trump of attempting to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.

The hundreds of pages, many of which were blanked out and marked "sealed," include material referenced in a sweeping court filing from Special Counsel Jack Smith made public earlier this month that argued that Trump, the Republican presidential candidate in this year's election, is not immune from the remaining allegations in the case.

The filings unsealed on Friday included excerpts of interviews conducted by Congress's official probe into the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol by Trump's supporters.

Witness names were blacked out, but some could be identified by matching them up with other known events. For instance, former Attorney General William Barr describes being summoned to the White House after an interview in which he said the election had not been marred by large-scale fraud, and expecting to be fired.

A few days after that interview, Trump announced on social media that Barr had stepped down.

Smith’s court filing contained few details that had not already been made public, but provided a detailed account of Trump’s efforts to hold onto power following his election loss, including descriptions of Trump’s conversations with family members and aides.

A compilation of the evidence was submitted as an attachment to Smith’s filing, but its public release was delayed to give the former president time to raise objections.

Much of the evidence, including reports of witness interviews, transcripts of grand jury testimony and records obtained through search warrants, has been redacted in the public release.

Trump’s lawyers argued that none of the material should be released ahead of the Nov. 5 election and successfully delayed its publication by a week. His defense team ultimately chose not to appeal U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan’s decision to release redacted versions of the documents.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to four criminal charges accusing him of a multipart conspiracy to obstruct the process to collect and certify the results of his 2020 defeat to Democrat Joe Biden.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Pro-Trump protesters storm into the U.S. Capitol during clashes with police, during a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by the U.S. Congress, in Washington, U.S, January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo

The case has been slowed by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that former presidents have broad immunity for official actions taken while in office. It will not go to trial before the election, when Trump faces Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump has argued the entire case should be thrown out based on the Supreme Court's decision. Should Trump win in November, experts believe he will order the U.S. Department of Justice to drop the case.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.