Trump charged in federal election probe, his third criminal indictment

Former United States President Donald Trump faces his third criminal indictment in four months, this time stemming from a federal investigation into his alleged attempts to interfere with the results of the 2020 election.

The 45-page indictment was filed in Washington, DC, by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who has led investigations into the former president on behalf of the US Department of Justice.

The former president has been accused of attempting to overturn his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 race.  “Despite having lost, the Defendant was determined to remain in power,” the indictment reads. “So for more than two months following election day on November 3, 2020, the Defendant spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that he had actually won.”

While the indictment affirms Trump’s right to free speech, it claims the former president “pursued unlawful means of discounting legitimate votes and subverting the election results”.

(Aljazeera)