Key Takeaways:
– Special Counsel Jack Smith accuses Donald Trump of dishonest attempts to overturn the 2020 election results
– Trump allegedly lied to state officials, manufactured fake electoral votes, and encouraged disruptive behaviours
– Smith presents evidence that Trump knew his stolen election claims were false
Smith’s Case Against Trump
In a document that requires some serious attention, Special Counsel Jack Smith alleges that former U.S. President Donald Trump used deception to try to overthrow the 2020 election results. According to Smith’s 180-page report, when Trump lost the 2020 election, he embarked upon criminal measures to try to retain his powerful position. He supposedly involved private co-conspirators in his efforts.
Attempts to Overturn Legitimate Election Results
The document proceeds to detail the accusations, stating Trump plotted schemes to invalidate fair election outcomes in seven states he lost: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. These schemes allegedly included misinforming state officials to get them to dismiss actual vote counts. It is also claimed the former president contrived fake electoral votes in these targeted states.
Enlisting Vice President and Inciting Capitol Siege
More shockingly, Smith urges that Trump even tried to involve then-Vice President Michael R. Pence in his endeavors. Trump seemingly planned to convince Pence, who was serving as President of the Senate, to hinder Congress’s certification of the election using the fake electoral votes. When everything else seemed to fail, on January 6, 2021, Trump allegedly orchestrated an irate gathering of backers at the Capitol to block congressional certification.
False Claims of Election Fraud
Threaded through all these actions was deceit. Trump and his fellow plotters apparently made knowingly false assertions of election fraud. According to Smith, they used these lies in furtherance of three conspiracies:
1) To interfere with the Constitution’s federal government function of collecting and counting election results.
2) To impede the official proceeding by which Congress ratifies the legitimate election outcome.
3) To infringe on the rights of millions of Americans to vote and have their votes counted.
Awareness of False Claims
Smith’s document contends that it is not just about Trump making false claims. The more controversial part is that Trump was fully aware his claims of election theft were outright lies, but chose to use them to accomplish his illegal actions. When asked why he didn’t concede the election respectfully, Trump cryptically suggested that 2024 was a long wait.
This astounding revelation about Trump’s alleged actions from Smith just a month before election day seems to be the first dark surprise of October.
Conclusion
As allegations and evidence are presented by Smith, they bring a new perspective to the 2020 election saga. If Smith’s claims hold up, it seems that truth and deception intertwined heavily behind the scenes of the presidential contest. What remains to be seen is how these allegations fare under the scrutiny of legal proceedings and what consequences they carry for Trump and his co-conspirators.