Trump's "trailer" for further imprisonment in Congress | riots | Trump
Former Republican President Donald Trump announced on the 18th that he will face federal criminal charges again for the January 2021 Capitol riot.
On the same day, Trump posted on his social media platform, stating that Jack Smith, the special prosecutor of the US Department of Justice who led the investigation, sent a letter on the 16th informing him that he had been listed as the subject of the investigation, requiring him to report to a federal grand jury in the capital Washington within 4 days. "This almost means arrest and charges.".
According to American media interpretation, the notification letter means that the prosecution has obtained evidence to link the investigation subject to criminal behavior. Special Prosecutor Smith is also leading the investigation into Trump's involvement in the "classified matter scandal". Prior to Trump being formally charged with criminal charges for this investigation last month, he also received a similar letter from Smith.
Former federal prosecutor Peter Zeidenberg said that if an individual receives an investigation notice letter, they will "be charged" unless they provide sufficient reasons.
Trump lost in the presidential election held in November 2020, and his supporters stormed the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, attempting to prevent both houses of Congress from certifying the election results, resulting in a Capitol building riot with 5 deaths and approximately 140 injuries. Several media outlets reported that shortly before the riots, Trump delivered a speech calling on supporters gathered near the White House to go to the Capitol building and "fight hard" to prevent the election victory from being "stolen".
So far, over 1000 people have been criminally charged with the Capitol riot, including "illegal invasion of Congress", "destruction of property", "attack on law enforcement officers", "refusal to arrest", and "incitement to conspiracy".
Smith's investigation into the Capitol riot covered a wide range of topics, including pressure on Trump's side to overturn election results, as well as falsifying voter identities and submitting false election results to Congress. Former senior government officials such as Mike Pence, who served as Trump's deputy, as well as Trump aides such as Rudy Giuliani, and local election officials in states such as Michigan and New Mexico, have all provided testimony to the grand jury.
It is currently unclear what charges Trump will face due to the Capitol riot. Some legal experts told the Associated Press that possible charges include "conspiring to deceive the American people" and "obstructing official agendas".
Trump has announced his candidacy for next year's presidential election. The Associated Press said that Trump has been trying to downplay the impact of the Capitol riot since leaving office. He has promised some supporters who have already been imprisoned that he will pardon them after being elected president. Earlier this year, he also collaborated with some prisoners in prison via phone to record the song "Justice for All".
On the 18th, Trump referred to all criminal investigations against him as "political persecution related to election intervention" and "complete political weaponization of the judiciary", accusing Democrats of intentionally using the judiciary to end their political careers. At present, he refuses to plead guilty to all criminal investigations.
In addition to the Capitol building riots and the "confidential scandal," Trump has also been criminally charged by New York state prosecutors with falsifying business records related to the disguised payment of "sealing fees.". The Fulton County prosecutor's office in Georgia is expected to officially decide next month whether to sue Trump for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Republican campaign strategist Matt Doll said that the accusations against Trump may help him raise funds, but they could also "scare away" some moderate Republican voters, thereby affecting his campaign.
During Trump's tenure, he was impeached twice by the Democratic controlled House of Representatives due to the "Russia Russia" investigation and the Capitol building riots. His first impeachment was blocked by the Republican controlled Senate at the time. Trump faced a second impeachment on the eve of his resignation in 2021, but this impeachment was abandoned due to less than two-thirds of the support in the Democratic controlled Senate at the time.