Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - International Service: This indictment is issued while the Supreme Court of the United States has previously issued a ruling that former presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution.
According to Reuters, special investigator Jack Smith has presented his indictment against Trump under a different title after the US Supreme Court ruling.
The revised indictment lays out the same four charges that prosecutors brought against the former president in 2023, but this time, it focuses on Trump's role as a political candidate seeking re-election rather than as president.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington is expected to decide in the coming weeks which aspects of the case will be dismissed under the Supreme Court's immunity decision and which parts can be tried.
In response to the issuance of this indictment, Donald Trump published and protested a statement on his social network True Social.
Noting that the Supreme Court's immunity ruling should lead to the closure of the entire case, he wrote, "Jack Smith rewrote the exact same case in an attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court's decision."
The Republican candidate added: "These new accusations are the interference of the Ministry of Justice in the elections, but the people of our country will see what happens with all these cases against me, and with a decisive victory on November 5th, all these accusations will be dismissed."
The former US president has pleaded not guilty to the charges in the original case and has denounced them and other charges he faces as politically motivated efforts to prevent him from returning to power.
Trump continued to write in Truth Social: "This stupidity is now directed at Comrade Kamala Harris, who is actively pursuing this indictment; Instead of demanding to abandon it immediately.
Polls show Harris slightly ahead of Trump after Democratic incumbent Joe Biden dropped out of the race.
The 36-page revised indictment, nine fewer than the original, relies on testimony from witnesses mostly outside the federal government; Like the former speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, who is mentioned in the indictment, Trump and one of his operatives pressured him during the 2020 election.
The original version of the case, which is one of four criminal charges against Trump, was delayed for months and Trump claimed political immunity. Finally, three of the six judges of the Supreme Court ruled that he has immunity for his decisions during the presidency.
In May, a New York jury convicted Trump of falsifying documents to conceal payments to an adult film star. His verdict in this regard is scheduled to be issued on September 18; Although he has asked the judge to postpone the sentencing until after the election in November.
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