CRIME
Trump’s criminal charges
August 2, 2023 - Donald Trump faces new criminal charges for the fourth time in five months, arising from efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Trump is the first former U.S. president to be criminally indicted.
The federal crimes with which Justice Department prosecutors have charged former President Trump include conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction, conspiracy to obstruct certification of the Electoral College vote and Conspiracy Against Rights, which could carry prison time if convicted.
Conspiracy to Defraud the United States makes it a crime for two or more people to “conspire either to commit any offence against the United States or to defraud the United States” or any federal agency and for one of them to perform some action that would affect the object of the conspiracy, which carries a fine or maximum prison sentence of five years if convicted.
Obstruction of an Official Proceeding criminalizes “obstructing, influencing, or impeding any official proceeding” or attempting to do so, which is punishable by a fine or up to 20 years in prison.
Obstruction charges relate to Trump’s alleged attempts to block Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote. The January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol building postponed the vote count.
- Factbox: The new charges in the Trump classified documents case (Reuters)
- Jan. 6 Riot Was ‘Fueled by Lies’ From Trump, Special Counsel Says (New York Times)
- Judge denies Trump's bid to quash probe into efforts to overturn Georgia election results (ABC News)
- Here Are the 78 Charges Trump Now Faces, and All the Prison Time (Bloomberg)
- Trump charged with 34 felony counts in hush money scheme (Associated Press)