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Jabin Botsford

A grand jury indicted former president <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/donald-trump/" target="_blank" class="contextual_link">Donald Trump</a> on Tuesday for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/08/01/trump-charges-2020-election-probe/" target=_blank>a raft of alleged crimes </a>in his brazen efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory — the latest legal and political aftershock stemming from the riot at the U.S. Capitol 2½ years ago.

The <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/01/indictment-document-trump-jan-6-pdf/" target=_blank>four-count, 45-page indictment</a> accuses <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/presidential-candidates-2024/" target=_blank>Trump, who is again running for president</a>, of conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding, attempting to obstruct an official proceeding and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/08/01/trump-indictment-civil-rights-law/" target=_blank>conspiring against people’s civil right to have their vote counted</a>. The maximum potential sentence on the most serious charge is 20 years in prison.

“The attack on our nation’s Capitol <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2021/jan-6-insurrection-capitol/" target=_blank>on Jan. 6, 2021</a>, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy,” special counsel Jack Smith told reporters after the indictment was filed. “It was fueled by lies, lies by the defendant.”

Smith also praised the law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol, saying that they “did not just defend a building or the people sheltering in it. They put their lives on the line to defend who we are as a country and as a people.”

A photo of Trump, with photos of Mar-a-Lago documents, the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, money and a map of Georgia by his face. 

viz-trump-criminal-cases-tracker

Donald Trump has been indicted in four cases. The Washington Post is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2023/trump-investigations-indictments/" target=_blank>keeping track of where each Trump investigation stands</a>. Here is a breakdown of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/trump-charges-jan-6-classified-documents/" target=_blank>all 88 charges Trump faces</a>.

The charges represent the third indictment of the former president filed since March — setting the stage for one of the stranger presidential contests in history, in which a major-party front-runner may have to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/21/trump-documents-trial-date-2024-election/" target=_blank>alternate between campaign stops and courtroom hearings</a> over the next year and a half.

A federal <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/06/08/trump-classified-documents-mar-a-lago/" target=_blank>grand jury in Miami indicted Trump</a> last month on <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/06/09/trump-charges-classified-documents/" target=_blank>charges of mishandling classified documents</a> after leaving the White House and obstructing government efforts to get them back. A state grand jury in New York has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/03/30/trump-indictment-ny-stormy-daniels/" target=_blank>charged him with falsifying business records</a> in connection with hush money payments during the 2016 campaign. And a state grand jury in Georgia is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/07/31/georgia-2020-election-investigation-trump/" target=_blank>weighing whether to charge Trump for his efforts</a> to undo the 2020 election results there.

Tracking the Trump indictments: What's the latest, where they stand

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/06/13/trump-court-miami-indictment/" target=_blank>Trump, who has pleaded not guilty in the documents case</a>, denies all wrongdoing related to the 2020 election as well. His spokesman, Steven Cheung, accused the Justice Department of trying to interfere with the 2024 election by targeting the GOP front-runner, and he compared the Biden administration to some of the worst authoritarian regimes in history.

“President Trump has always followed the law and the Constitution, with advice from many highly accomplished attorneys,” Cheung said in a statement that compared the Biden administration to Nazi Germany. “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!”

Tuesday’s indictment paints Trump in late 2020 as a sore loser and an inveterate liar, willing to say almost anything to try to reverse his defeat at the hands of his Democratic rival.

“Despite having lost, the Defendant was determined to remain in power,” the indictment charges, accusing Trump of unleashing a blizzard of false claims about purported mass voter fraud and then trying to get state, local and federal officials to act to change the vote results.

“These claims were false, and the Defendant knew that they were false,” the indictment states. “In fact, the Defendant was notified repeatedly that his claims were untrue — often by the people on whom he relied for candid advice on important matters, and who were best positioned to know the facts — and he deliberately disregarded the truth.”

The former president was ordered to appear in federal court in Washington on Thursday. The case was assigned to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/08/01/judge-trump-jan-6-special-counsel/" target=_blank>U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan</a>, a 2014 Obama appointee and a former D.C. public defender.

While Trump’s legal woes have grown exponentially in recent months, he has only solidified his early lead over the field of 2024 GOP presidential contenders. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), an ardent Trump supporter, issued a statement criticizing the Justice Department, claiming that the indictment was an effort to “attack the frontrunner for the Republican nomination” and distract the public from stories about <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/candidates/joe-biden-2024/" target="_blank" class="contextual_link">President Biden</a> while his son Hunter is trying to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/07/26/hunter-biden-plea-deal/" target=_blank>plead guilty to tax charges</a>.

In broad strokes and specific scenes, the indictment recounts much of what was already known about Trump’s efforts to stay in the White House despite losing the election, actions that were the focus of extensive hearings last year by a House select committee investigating <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/january-6-capitol-riot/" target="_blank" class="contextual_link">Jan. 6</a>.

The indictment frames that conduct as a criminal conspiracy to demolish a bedrock function of American democracy: the peaceful transfer of political power.

No one else is charged alongside Trump, but the indictment describes six <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/01/doj-trump-indictment-trump-coconspirators/" target=_blank>unnamed co-conspirators</a>, who appear to be in significant legal jeopardy. Smith said the investigation was ongoing.

At the top of that list is Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor and former lawyer for Trump. He appears in the indictment only as Co-Conspirator 1, but his identity is clear from the document’s descriptions of that person’s actions.

Jim Bourg

Most of the other uncharged co-conspirators are identifiable based on details in the indictment and previous reporting by The Washington Post and other outlets. That reporting shows that Co-Conspirator 2, described in the indictment as “an attorney who devised and attempted to implement a strategy to leverage the Vice President’s ceremonial role overseeing the certification proceeding,” is John Eastman.

The indictment describes Co-Conspirator 3 as “an attorney whose unfounded claims of election fraud” Trump himself said sounded “crazy” — a description that matches Trump ally Sidney Powell. Co-Conspirator 4 is described as a then-Justice Department official who “attempted to use the Justice Department to open sham election crime investigations.” Other details of that person’s actions match <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/06/23/jeffrey-clark-house-search/" target=_blank>Jeffrey Clark</a>, whom Trump considered appointing as attorney general in the final days of his administration.

Co-Conspirator 5 is described in the indictment as a lawyer who tried to implement a plan “to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding” — a reference that appears to match Kenneth Chesebro, a Trump attorney who worked on the scheme involving false presidential electors.

Eastman attorney Charles Burnham said in a statement that Eastman is not involved in any plea bargaining and would decline any such invitation, casting Trump’s indictment as an effort by the Biden administration to attack a political opponent and “cast ominous aspersions on his close advisors.” Attorneys for other uncharged co-conspirators did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday night. An attorney for Powell declined to comment, and a Giuliani spokesman questioned the basis for the allegations.

Ricky Carioti

Robert Mintz, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice, said an unindicted co-conspirator is, by definition, someone prosecutors already believe has committed a crime.

“There are many reasons why prosecutors refer to unindicted co-conspirators, some of them evidentiary and some of them strategic, but it most often is used to send a strong message to a potential defendant who the prosecution wants to turn into a cooperating witness, but who is holding out,” said Mintz. “It is essentially like being in the on-deck circle for the superseding indictment in that prosecutors are no longer deciding if they can bring charges, but only if they want to.”

Tuesday’s indictment says Trump used private phone calls, memos and other meetings to pressure his vice president, Mike Pence, to help him overturn the election.

There were at least four calls before Jan. 6, the indictment says, including a call on Dec. 25, 2020, and one on New Year’s Day. On Christmas, Pence told Trump he did not have the “authority” to overturn the election. On Jan. 1, he repeated that to Trump, according to the indictment.

“You’re too honest,” Trump allegedly responded.

Pence rejected Trump again on Jan. 3, according to the indictment. The indictment says Pence and his team were also pressured by Eastman in the days leading up to Jan. 6. After that conversation, the indictment says, a Pence adviser told Trump that even Co-Conspirator 2 “had conceded that his plan was ‘not going to work.’”

The indictment also alleges that on the night of Jan. 6, after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol to try to prevent the formal certification of Biden’s victory, “the White House counsel called the Defendant to ask him to withdraw any objections and allow the certification. The Defendant refused.”

Trump for more than two weeks had publicly predicted that he would be indicted, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/07/18/trump-jan6-target-letter/" target=_blank>announcing on social media on July 18</a> that his attorneys had been told he might be charged in the case. On Tuesday, the grand jury panel hearing evidence in the case gathered early at the D.C. courthouse, within sight of the U.S. Capitol. The jurors were seen leaving in the afternoon.

About 5 p.m., reporters in the courthouse saw a prosecutor with Smith’s office and the grand jury foreperson deliver the indictment to a magistrate judge.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya accepted the grand jury return, saying, “I do have one indictment return before me, and I have reviewed the paperwork in connection with this indictment.”

A short time later, the document was available on the federal court computer system for all to see.

Smith was tapped in November to take charge of the Justice Department’s classified-documents probe and 2020 election investigation, after Trump launched his 2024 campaign and Attorney General Merrick Garland — a Biden appointee — concluded that an independent prosecutor should oversee the probes.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/29/trump-investigations-litigation/" target=_blank>Donald Trump is facing historic legal scrutiny</a> for a former president. He has been indicted on 91 felony counts in two federal cases, in Florida and D.C., and two state cases, in Manhattan and Fulton County, Ga. He has denied all wrongdoing. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2023/trump-investigations-indictments/" target=_blank>Here is a list of the key probes</a> and where they stand.

Manhattan district attorney’s investigation

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/03/30/trump-ny-indictment/" target=_blank>Trump has been indicted on 34 felony counts</a> following an investigation by District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) of business matters involving Trump, including his alleged role in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/03/14/trump-stormy-daniels-case/" target=_blank>hush money payments to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels</a> during the 2016 campaign. The trial is underway.

Mar-a-Lago classified documents investigation

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/07/27/trump-carlos-deoliveira-classified-indictment/" target=_blank>Trump has been indicted on 40 felony counts</a> after FBI agents found more than <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/09/02/fbi-inventory-mar-a-lago/" target=_blank>100 classified documents</a> during a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/08/trump-mar-a-lago-search-fbi/" target=_blank>search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence</a> on Aug. 8, 2022, as part of a criminal probe into possible mishandling of classified information. The trial has been <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/05/07/trump-classified-documents-trial-delayed-cannon-florida/" target=_blank>pushed back indefinitely</a>.

Justice Dept. criminal probe of Jan. 6

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/01/trump-indictment-jan-6-2020-election/" target=_blank>Trump has been indicted on four felony charges</a> related to trying to block the results of the 2020 presidential election. Prosecutors are focusing on the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/january-6-capitol-riot/" target=_blank>Jan. 6, 2021, riot</a> and whether Trump or his aides <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/07/26/trump-justice-investigation-january-6/" target=_blank>conspired to obstruct Congress’s certification</a> of the election or committed fraud to block the peaceful transfer of power. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/11/18/justice-trump-garland-special-counsel/?itid=lk_inline_manual_16" target=_blank>Prosecutor Jack Smith</a> is overseeing both federal investigations.

Georgia election results investigation

Former president <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/14/trump-indictment-georgia-election-2020/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2" target=_blank>Donald Trump and 18 others were criminally charged</a> in Fulton County, Ga., in connection with efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 win in Georgia. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/14/indictment-document-trump-georgia/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2" target=_blank>The indictment</a> follows a 2½-year investigation by Fulton County District Attorney <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/15/fani-willis-fulton-county-district-attorney/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2" target=_blank>Fani T. Willis</a> (D). Four of Trump’s co-defendants have pleaded guilty.

A state grand jury in Fulton County, Ga., is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/07/31/georgia-2020-election-investigation-trump/" target=_blank>also considering whether to file broad charges</a> against Trump and his lawyers, advocates and aides over their efforts to undo the 2020 election results. A decision is expected this month, although previous plans to announce a charging decision have been delayed. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/18/trump-electors-michigan/" target=_blank>Michigan </a>and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/07/13/investigation-2020-election-results-arizona-trump/" target=_blank>Arizona </a>are also investigating aspects of the efforts to block Biden’s victory in their states.

Trump is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/05/23/trump-court-hearing-share-evidence/" target="_blank">scheduled for trial in March on the New York state charges</a> of falsifying business records, and a federal judge in Florida has scheduled the classified-documents trial to start in late May.

Smith vowed Tuesday to seek a speedy trial in Washington on the election conspiracy charges.

That investigation proceeded along multiple tracks in recent months, people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post, with <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/06/26/justice-dept-asks-about-election-fraud-claims-well-fake-electors/" target=_blank>prosecutors focused on ads and fundraising pitches claiming election fraud </a>as well as plans for “fake electors” who could have swung the election to Trump.

Smith sought to navigate thorny issues of where the line should be drawn between political activity, legal advocacy and criminal conspiracy.

A key element of the investigation was determining to what degree Republican operatives, activists and elected officials — including Trump — understood that their claims of massive voter fraud were false at the time they were making them. The indictment is peppered with instances in which prosecutors try to show that Trump knew he was spewing lies, including times when the nation’s top intelligence officials and White House lawyers allegedly told Trump that there was no evidence of voting fraud or irregularities.

A spokesman for Giuliani suggested that prosecutors cannot prove that Trump knew he was lying when he claimed voter fraud.

“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,” said the spokesman, Ted Goodman. He said the 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.”

At a community event in Philadelphia on Tuesday evening, Garland briefly addressed reporters outside a police district headquarters. He did not discuss the specifics of the indictment but expressed confidence in how the investigation has been handled.

“Mr. Smith and his team are experienced, principled career agents and prosecutors” who “follow the facts and the law wherever they lead,” said Garland.

Rachel Weiner, Tom Jackman, Mariana Alfaro and Keith L. Alexander in Washington and Maura Ewing in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

Pulitzer Prize co-finalist for Feature Writing, 2017

Pulitzer Prize co-finalist for International Reporting, 2017

Part of team that won Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting, 2018

Part of team that won Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, 2022

"October Surprise: How the FBI Tried to Save Itself and Crashed an Election"

McGill University, BA 

Devlin Barrett writes about the FBI and the Justice Department, and is the author of "October Surprise: How the FBI Tried to Save Itself and Crashed an Election." He was part of reporting teams that won Pulitzer Prizes in 2018 and 2022. In 2017 he was a co-finalist for the Pulitzer for Feature Writing and the Pulitzer for International Reporting. 

Devlin Barrett

Finalist, Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, National Emmy Award nominee, Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award for Public Service, Ursula and Gilbert Farfel Prize for Excellence in Investigative Reporting, American Immigration Lawyers Association Media Leadership Award,

Harvard University, B.A. in English

Spencer S. Hsu is an investigative reporter, two-time Pulitzer finalist and national Emmy Award nominee. Hsu has covered homeland security, immigration, Virginia politics and Congress.

Spencer Hsu

Washington University in St. Louis, BA

Perry Stein covers the Justice Department and FBI for The Washington Post. She previously covered D.C. education. Before she joined The Post in 2015, she was a staff writer for Washington City Paper and wrote for the Miami Herald. 

Perry Stein

White House Correspondents Award for Deadline Reporting

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Josh Dawsey is a political enterprise and investigations reporter for The Washington Post. He joined the paper in 2017 and previously covered the White House. Before that, he covered the White House for Politico, and New York City Hall and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for the Wall Street Journal.

Josh Dawsey

Harvard University, BA IN Government

Jacqueline Alemany is a Congressional Investigations reporter for The Washington Post. Previously, she was the author of The Early 202, The Post's flagship early morning newsletter featuring news critical to the nation’s many power centers. Alemany is also an on-air contributor to NBC News and MSNBC.

Jacqueline Alemany

Trump charged in probe of Jan. 6, efforts to overturn 2020 election

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