Special counsel’s report says Trump would be convicted of “unprecedented criminal attempt” on Jan. 6

WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith said his team “protected the rule of law” in its investigation into President-elect Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, writing in a long-awaited report released Tuesday that he fully supports his decision to file criminal charges. which he believed would have led to condemnation if voters had not returned Trump to the White House.

“Underlying all of Mr. Trump’s criminal efforts was deception — knowingly false claims about election fraud — and the evidence shows that Mr. Trump used those lies as a weapon to defeat a function of the federal government that is fundamental to the democratic process of the United States,” it said. in the report.

The report, which comes days before Trump’s January 20 return to office, draws attention to the Republican’s frantic but unsuccessful bid to cling to power in 2020 after losing to Democrat Joe Biden. With the prosecution closed thanks to Trump’s 2024 election victory, the document is expected to be the Justice Department’s latest chronicle of a dark chapter in American history that has threatened to derail the peaceful transfer of power, a foundation of democracy for centuries, and additions have already been made public. indictments and protocols.

Trump responded early Tuesday with a post on his Truth Social platform, claiming he was “completely innocent” and calling Smith “a stupid prosecutor who couldn’t get his case to trial before the election.” THE VOTERS HAVE SPOKE!!!”

In August 2023, Trump was indicted on charges of working to overturn the election, but the case was delayed by appeals and ultimately greatly narrowed by the conservative-majority Supreme Court, which ruled for the first time that former presidents enjoy blanket immunity from prosecution for official acts. Smith’s report said the ruling left open legal issues that would likely require another trip to the Supreme Court for the case to move forward.

Although Smith tried to save the charges, the team rejected him in November because of a longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot face federal criminal prosecution.

“The Department’s view that the Constitution bars the continuation of impeachment and prosecution of the President is categorical and does not affect the seriousness of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s case, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Office fully supports. behind,” the report said. “Indeed, barring Mr. Trump’s election and imminent return to the presidency, the Office assessed that admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction in court.”

The Justice Department turned the report over to Congress early Tuesday after a judge refused to block the defense from releasing it. A separate volume of the report on Trump’s hoarding of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, activities that formed the basis of a separate indictment against Trump, will remain classified for now.