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Donald Trump would have been convicted at trial on charges of seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election had he not won the polls last year, according to the special counsel who led the federal cases against the president-elect.
Jack Smith, a federal prosecutor, was appointed by US Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022 as a special counsel to oversee the cases against Trump. He obtained indictments against the former president, one of which accused Trump of interfering in the outcome of the 2020 elections.
But Smith ultimately moved to reject both measures after Trump won the 2024 election based on a long-standing Justice Department policy barring the prosecution of sitting presidents.
That opinion “is categorical and does not depend on the seriousness of the crimes charged, the strength of the evidence presented by the government, or the merits of the prosecution, which the office fully supports,” Smith wrote in a report issued early Tuesday.
“Indeed, but for Mr. Trump's election and imminent return to the presidency, the (special counsel's) office judged that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial,” Smith added.
A spokesman for Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is a developing story
