New unsealed document reveals Trump ‘committed crimes’ in 2020
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New bombshell revelations about Donald Trump’s “crimes” in trying to overturn the 2020 election result have come to light. But will anything come of this?
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In brief…
- A 165-page document unsealed by prosecutors has revealed new details about the “crimes” committed by Donald Trump in his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
- The case hinges on whether Trump acted in a personal or presidential capacity during these events, as a Supreme Court ruling grants him immunity for actions taken while in office.
- The News Agents say this could all be dead in the water if Trump wins the election.
What’s the story?
The Presidential election is just around the corner, but Donald Trump is in legal trouble once again.
On Wednesday, prosecutors unsealed a 165-page legal document with new information about his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election result.
Special counsel Jack Smith, who submitted the document, claims the former president “resorted to crimes” in doing so.
But you might remember that Supreme Court ruling, which essentially granted Donald Trump immunity from almost all kinds of criminal prosecution for the things did while in office.
“It all hinges around the ruling,” Emily says, noting that if Trump committed these crimes in a personal capacity rather than a presidential one, then Trump won’t be immune at all.
So how damaging will this be for Trump? And what impact will it have on the Presidential race?
Far-right or hard-right: What's the difference?
What was inside the unsealed document?
The unsealed document cites previously unknown accounts from Trump’s closest associates, who claimed he “used deceit to target every stage of the electoral process”.
When Trump was told that his vice president Mike Pence was in potential danger after a crowd of violent rioters stormed the Capitol, he allegedly responded: “So what?”
It also reveals Trump ignored Pence when he advised him to admit that the 2020 election was over.
“Mike Pence comes out of this as the persecuted, literally they wanted his head, and as the man who had the sense to try and convince Trump to give it all up”, Emily says.
It was at this point that Trump and his associates ”hatched a criminal scheme to subvert the peaceful transfer of power”, says Emily.
The term associates, Emily notes, is an important use of terminology as it implies they were not part of the US government machinery.
Rather, they were acting in a personal capacity, and that could prove vital when considering whether Trump is immune from prosecution or not.
“They were completely personal associates. The private lawyer, Rudy Giuliani and the hangers-on that did not actually play a proper, official role, ” Emily says.
Has the media overcompensated for the rise of Donald Trump?
What’s The News Agents take?
The fact of the matter is, Emily and Jon say, Donald Trump will not be prosecuted before the election.
And if Trump wins, then it is “game over” for those trying to prosecute him.
Emily even questions whether this could do Trump a favour, as it has in previous cases.
She asks: “Does it actually energise the undecided 1% at the base, who go and fundraise for him… who go ‘this is lawfare. This is the Democrats trying to stop him from being our president again.”
But Jon says this is the last thing Trump’s team wanted.
He says: “Trump's lawyers did not want this to come out. They didn't want the judge to order the unsealing.
“They argued that it was unconstitutional, that it shouldn't be allowed to happen, that all this is kind of just a way of distracting attention from the election and to help Donald Trump lose.”
“Trump and his campaign team knows that the more you focus on January 6th, the more this election becomes about Donald Trump and not about Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the more chance there is that Donald Trump loses.”
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