DoJ report says Trump would have been guilty of election interference
President-elect Donald Trump would have been convicted of illegally trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election — which he lost — if he had not been successfully re-elected in 2024, according to a Justice Department report released to Congress. Would have happened.
“The admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial,” special counsel Jack Smith’s report said.
Following the release of the report, Trump said Smith was “insane” and that his findings were “bogus.”
The 137-page document was sent to Congress after Judge Eileen Cannon cleared the way for the release of the first of two parts of Smith’s report on the election interference case.
He ordered a hearing later in the week on whether to release part of the report on allegations that Trump illegally possessed classified government documents.
The President-elect takes office on 20 January.
Special counsel Jack Smith resigned from his post last week.
Smith was appointed to oversee the US Justice Department’s investigation into Trump in 2022. In cases where there is a potential conflict of interest, special counsel are selected by the department.
Trump was accused of illegally possessing the documents and, in some cases, storing them in rooms at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, which is his residence. In the interference case, he was accused of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election results.
Both cases brought criminal charges against Trump, who pleaded not guilty and sought to characterize the prosecution as politically motivated.
But after Trump’s election in November, Smith closed the cases in accordance with Justice Department rules that prevent prosecuting a sitting president.
Indeed, in the released report, Smith says: “The Department’s (Justice’s) view that the Constitution prohibits the continued impeachment and prosecution of the President is clear and does not affect the seriousness of the crimes charged, the government’s evidence. ” or the merits of the prosecution, which the Office fully supports.”
Since then, there has been legal wrangling over material related to the cases.
Last week, Judge Cannon placed a temporary hold on the release of the full Smith report due to concerns that the classified document could affect the cases of two Trump associates charged with them in the case.
Trump’s personal aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos de Oliveira are accused of helping Trump hide the documents.
Unlike Trump, their cases are still pending — and their lawyers argued that the release of Smith’s report could adversely affect future juries and trials.
