WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — The Department of Justice (DOJ) has indicted President Donald Trump on four separate charges relating to his objection to the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
The Tuesday indictment also listed six “co-conspirators” in the actions, though those individuals are not named.
“The attack on our nation’s capital on Jan. 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy,” alleged special counsel Jack Smith. “It was fueled by lies — lies by the defendant — targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the U.S. government: the nation’s process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election.”
The charges are 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.
While the conspiracy against rights can carry the death penalty, that only applies if the actions lead to the death of another person. “Prosecutors are not arguing that Trump’s actions led to any of the deaths that occurred during or after the Jan. 6 attack,” The Washington Post reported.
Trump responded to the news by thanking his supporters.
He wrote on Truth Social this morning:
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE!!! I HAVE NEVER HAD SO MUCH SUPPORT ON ANYTHING BEFORE. THIS UNPRECEDENTED INDICTMENT OF A FORMER (HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL!) PRESIDENT, & THE LEADING CANDIDATE, BY FAR, IN BOTH THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND THE 2024 GENERAL ELECTION, HAS AWOKEN THE WORLD TO THE CORRUPTION, SCANDAL, & FAILURE THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE IN THE UNITED STATES FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS. AMERICA IS A NATION IN DECLINE, BUT WE WILL MAKE IT GREAT AGAIN, GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE. I LOVE YOU ALL!!
Trump is also facing federal charges pertaining to his alleged mishandling of classified documents. Since the unprecedented raid on a former president’s home, it has come out that President Joe Biden also had classified documents in his possession at his home in Delaware and at a think tank he ran through the University of Pennsylvania.
A New York grand jury also indicted Trump in March on charges relating to his alleged improper payments to a pornography performer.
The latest indictment has drawn both condemnation and praise from Trump’s 2024 Republican presidential opponents.
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Pence praises indictment while others call it ‘un-American’
Vice President Mike Pence, who certified the results of the 2020 election, appeared to praise the announcement. “Today’s indictment serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States,” Pence wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Today’s indictment serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States.
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) August 2, 2023
“I will have more to say about the government’s case after reviewing the indictment. The former president is entitled to the presumption of innocence but with this indictment, his candidacy means more talk about January 6th and more distractions,” Pence stated.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he had yet to read the indictment but criticized the “weaponization” of the government. “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,” Gov. DeSantis wrote.
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…
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) August 1, 2023
“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,” he said. “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.”
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who is among the leading contenders after Trump, criticized the indictment. “This is un-American & I commit to pardoning Trump for this indictment. Donald Trump isn’t the cause of what happened on Jan 6,” Ramaswamy wrote on Twitter. “The real cause was systematic & pervasive censorship of citizens in the year leading up to it. If you tell people they can’t speak, that’s when they scream.”
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 & pervasive censorship of… pic.twitter.com/c1OpZNOl6c
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) August 1, 2023
“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,” he said.
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, another presidential candidate, also criticized the indictment. “I remain concerned about the weaponization of Biden’s DOJ and its immense power used against political opponents,” Senator Scott stated. “What we see today are two different tracks of justice. One for political opponents and another for the son of the current president.”
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