Trump’s third criminal indictment came on August 1 when a grand jury in Washington indicted him on four counts relating to his efforts to maintain power after losing the 2020 election and his participation in the takeover of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The indictment sparks yet another challenging legal struggle as Trump vies to be the Republican presidential nominee in 2024.

Following a nearly eight-month investigation into Trump’s attempts to thwart the January 6 power transition, Special Counsel Jack Smith’s probe resulted in the indictment of six unnamed co-conspirators by the Justice Department on Tuesday. The four allegations include obstruction, conspiracy to impede, fraud, and conspiracy against the right to vote.

“Each of these conspiracies—which built upon the widespread mistrust the Defendant was creating through pervasive and destabilizing lies about election fraud—targeted a bedrock function of the United States federal government: the nation’s process of collecting, counting, and certifying the presidential election results,” the indictment reads.

Before the DOJ made the allegations public, Trump labeled the indictment “fake” and charged Smith for “interfering” with the 2024 election on Truth Social. He wrote, “Why didn’t they do this 2.5 years ago?” Why are you being so patient? That was intended to be a part of my campaign.

Trump was mandated by the Justice Department to show up in federal court on August 3 in Washington, D.C.

Smith claimed on Tuesday that the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was exceptional. “More persons are being looked into. My office will request a speedy trial so that a regular jury can consider our evidence and reach a verdict.

Trump is charged with making false charges of electoral fraud despite knowing they were untrue, according to the indictment. He was informed there was no major electoral fraud, according to senior White House attorneys, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, Vice President Mike Pence, and DOJ officials.

In spite of this, Trump kept up his power. According to the indictment, Trump tried to submit phony elector slates in Joe Biden-supporting swing states like Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Pence allegedly made “contemporaneous notes” on Trump and Pence’s private phone calls in the days preceding the attack on January 6. Trump apparently referred to Pence as “too honest” after he stated that he couldn’t unilaterally reject the election results. The complaint claims that John Eastman, an attorney for Trump, also persuaded Pence to interfere with the Electoral College vote. In response to a senior aide’s warning that such a move would spark social unrest, Eastman allegedly said that “violence had previously been necessary in the nation’s history where violence was necessary to protect the republic.”

The former president of the United States asked that I choose between him and the Constitution on January 6, to which Pence responded on Tuesday. I will always support the Constitution.

The indictment claims that by January 6, Trump had taken advantage of the situation by refusing to approve a message asking protesters to disperse. Hours after the crowd dispersed, Trump believed the election was rigged. According to the complaint, “The White House counsel called the defendant to ask him to withdraw any objections and allow the certification.” In “Defendant declined,”

The latest legal concern facing Trump is the indictment. Smith has been charged with obstruction of justice and hoarding national security information in a separate special counsel investigation. In April, Trump was accused by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of falsifying company documents to hide payments to porn actors.

In Georgia, where Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis appointed a grand jury to look into Trump’s alleged attempts to invalidate the results of the 2020 election, he might be subject to another criminal prosecution.

A well-known presidential candidate who was accused of multiple crimes would typically lose. Trump has taken advantage of his legal ambiguity in the Republican race. After his first two indictments, Trump raised millions of dollars and increased in popularity. Since then, most national polls show him leading Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by more than 30 points in the GOP 2024 contest.

The Trump campaign declared on Tuesday that “the lawlessness of these persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of the former Soviet Union, Nazi Germany in the 1930s, and other authoritarian, dictatorial regimes.” President Trump has complied with the law and the Constitution after consulting with knowledgeable counsel.

Before the most recent indictment, Trump declared on Truth Social, “I have the right to protest an Election that I am fully convinced was Rigged and Stolen.”

It won’t be a convincing legal case, according to Jessica Roth, a professor at Cardozo School of Law and former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York. Even if you think you used illegal measures, you can’t, she explains. This is a flimsy legal defense. According to Roth, prosecutors will gain “significantly” if they can show that Trump was aware he had lost the election despite continuing to lie.

In response to the allegations, Trump has sought to enrage MAGA supporters. He frequently states during rallies, “They’re not coming after me, they’re coming after you.” Without providing any proof, he further asserted that the prosecutions are part of a politically driven witch hunt to remove the person standing in the way of President Biden’s reelection.

Trump’s adversaries could favor Smith’s most recent indictment. Democrats and Republicans who support Never Trump celebrated Trump’s legal punishment for 50 years of dodging inquiries. They particularly want him to answer for his part in the assault on the US Capitol on January 6 and his efforts to obstruct the orderly transition of power.

Trump’s numerous attempts to rig the 2020 election were the subject of the Jan. 6 Committee’s primetime hearings held in the summer and fall of last year. The impartial nine-member commission worked hard to establish that Trump was mostly to blame for the fatal coup attempt. In its final report, the committee came to the conclusion that the events of January 6 were mostly caused by former President Donald Trump. “He brought about January 6.”

The panel unanimously filed criminal charges against Trump with the Justice Department in December after 18 months and 10 open hearings. The committee discovered evidence supporting four criminal accusations: obstructing an official investigation, conspiring to defraud the government, making false statements, and encouraging an uprising. It was the first time a legislative committee made a statement like that against a former president, even though it had no legal support.

Smith was hired as special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland after Trump announced his presidential campaign in November, and the Justice Department began looking into what happened on January 6.

Trump frequently asserts that systemic forces are trying to remove him through several criminal investigations. According to some theories, Trump started his campaign formally one week before the midterm elections in order to complicate matters for the prosecutors, who have a long-standing rule against even the appearance of election meddling. Trump’s adversaries predict that he will postpone the proceedings until after the election. If he is successful, he may request that the federal accusations against him be dropped or request his own pardon.

The secret document trial was postponed by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon until May 20, 2024. Prior to the primaries on March 25, 2024, New York will file the “hush money” case.

Senior federal prosecutors believe Trump’s stalling strategies will be successful. Prosecuting a former president who is also the Republican contender in 2024 will be more difficult because most white-collar criminal investigations take years to complete.

If the special counsel finds Trump guilty, Trump may still be the president, according to legal experts. The US Constitution permits naturalised citizens who have lived in the country for over 35 years to run for president. Even if he is behind bars, Trump might run for president.

Following the indictment on Tuesday, Smith and his attorneys now endure a protracted legal process. Roth claims that this case will be challenging. “The Florida papers case was more challenging to defend and win. To justify the crimes and the previous President, there will be a tonne of evidence and a convoluted conspiracy. It goes much beyond the Florida-related allegations.