Getty ImagesDonald Trump's alleged attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat are laid out in a final report by the special counsel who spent two years investigating him.
Much of its 140 pages was already known, thanks to a 2022 congressional investigation and previous court filings by the report's author, Jack Smith.
But it sheds new light on some of the evidence uncovered by Smith's team and outlines its own thinking on some finer legal points.
Trump, who returns to the White House next week, took no time in responding to the report's publication, insisting on his innocence and describing Smith as “unhinged.”
Here are five takeaways from the report.
1. Smith says Trump encouraged violence
The report examines the riot that occurred at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 – when Trump supporters stormed the building to try to thwart the certification of Biden's victory, after hearing an Oval speech in Washington, D.C., given by Trump, the defeated candidate.
“Mr. Trump’s words inspired his supporters to commit acts of physical violence,” the report says.
It goes on to note: “Although Mr. Trump also at one point asked his supporters to ‘peacefully and patriotically make their voices heard,’ he used the word ‘fight’ more than a dozen times in the speech.”
Upon his return to office, Trump pledged to pardon many of those convicted of crimes related to the riots, which he sought to reframe as a “Day of Love.”
His defenders have rejected the idea that he deliberately incited the crowd, pointing to the “peaceful” quote highlighted by Smith above.
2. But he was not accused of incitement
The report addresses the basis on which Trump was tried, explaining that Smith’s team considered filing a charge of “incitement of rebellion” against the then president.
Trump's speech on the Oval on Jan. 6, 2021, could meet the Supreme Court's definition of incitement, especially when viewed alongside his “long and deceptive narrative of voter fraud,” the document says.
The report notes that the violence that occurred that day was “expected” for Trump, for example, and that he sought to “take advantage” of the events to delay Biden’s certification.
But Trump was not ultimately charged with incitement because Smith's team found no “direct evidence” that he intended to cause the “full scope of violence” during the Capitol riot, making a conviction uncertain.
The document also indicates that there are “other strong charges available.”
3. The rioters said they were there because of Trump's directives
The report says several of the men charged and convicted for their involvement in the Capitol attack cited Trump's influence as a motivating factor.
The report quotes a few of the rioters, including Alex Harkrider, who requested to be released from prison ahead of his trial, arguing that “like thousands of others” he was merely “responding to Trump’s pleas.”
Another man, David Mahaffy, when he asked for a commutation, cited Trump's speech and added: “I trusted the president and that was a big mistake.”
What Smith did not acknowledge in his report was that it was in these men's legal interests to shift responsibility away from themselves.
4. He lobbied Mike Pence for weeks to no avail
In repeated conversations, day after day, Trump asked his vice president to use his Cabinet position as president of the Senate to change the outcome of the election by not certifying the results, Smith's report shows.
Pence refused, and at one point, Trump told him that “hundreds of thousands” of people would “hate his gut” if he didn’t back down.
The pressure campaign on his deputy continued publicly. Trump said in a speech that he hoped Pence would do so, but if he didn't, “I wouldn't like him very much.”
Just before he left the White House to deliver his speech on the Ellipse ahead of the attack on the Capitol, Trump phoned Pence one last time, Smith says. When the vice president told him during the call that he did not have the authority to carry out Trump's wishes, Trump asked staff to reinsert some of the language he had crafted earlier targeting Pence into his speech.
Moments after the speech, Trump supporters were roaming the halls of the Capitol chanting “Hang Mike Pence,” and chasing down desks for him.
5. He recounted the shock of the police officers
Smith recaps law enforcement's experiences on duty when the mob stormed the Capitol, where at least 140 officers were assaulted.
It notes that 123 defendants were subsequently charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to law enforcement officials.
“This violence had a long-lasting impact,” the report states, highlighting that 223 officers suffered “invisible injuries,” including depression and other forms of psychological trauma.”
A footnote further describes the officers' feelings of “survivor guilt,” “shock,” and “not being able to move on from that day.”
