Just when former President Donald Trump thought he could bask in the glow of his ill-gotten immunity, the specter of his past transgressions has come back to haunt him with a vengeance.
In a development that surprises absolutely no one with a functioning moral compass, Special Counsel Jack Smith has slapped Trump with a superseding indictment related to the federal election interference case. This revelation comes hot on the heels of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity, which forced Smith to deftly navigate the legal minefield and adjust the charges against Trump accordingly.
The original indictment painted a damning picture of Trump’s alleged obstruction of the federal government’s function. These included strong-arming state election officials to change electoral votes, orchestrating fraudulent slates of electors, weaponizing the Department of Justice to conduct “sham” investigations, pressuring the Vice President to obstruct the certification of the election, and shamelessly exploiting the chaos of the January 6th riot.
However, the Supreme Court’s ruling threw a wrench in the works, explicitly stating that the use of the DOJ falls within the president’s official duties. In response, the superseding indictment employs razor-sharp language to highlight the instances where Trump shed his presidential skin and acted as a mere mortal candidate. The indictment boldly asserts that Trump “had no official responsibilities related to any state’s certification of the election results,” underscoring the moments when he was allegedly acting “not as President but in his capacity as a candidate for office.”
On that fateful day, a mob of Trump supporters, fueled by his baseless claims of election fraud, stormed the Capitol in an attempt to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s victory. The violence that ensued resulted in multiple deaths, scores of injuries, and lasting damage to the very fabric of American democracy. While Trump did not physically participate in the riot, his words and actions leading up to and during the event have come under intense scrutiny. In a speech delivered just hours before the riot, Trump urged his supporters to march to the Capitol and “fight like hell” to stop the certification of the election results. He also reportedly watched with glee as the violence unfolded on television, even as his own advisors pleaded with him to intervene and call off the mob. These actions demonstrate that Trump was acting not as a President concerned with the welfare of the nation, but as a candidate desperate to cling to power by any means necessary.
The burning question on everyone’s mind is whether Trump will finally face the music and trade in his gilded throne for a cold, hard prison cell. While Smith’s new indictment might be a masterpiece of legal strategy, it’s still subject to the scrutiny of the Supreme Court. The high court has already thrown a lifeline to Trump once, and it holds the power to do so again. The outcome of the superseding indictment is not expected to drop before the November 5 elections. Trump’s legal team is undoubtedly preparing to mount a vigorous defense, promising yet another protracted battle in the courts.