Donald Trump indictment: Trump hit with 2020 election probe charges as he likens it to ‘Nazi persecution’

Co-conspirator 2 – described in the indictment as an “attorney who devised and attempted to implement a strategy to leverage the Vice President’s ceremonial role overseeing the certification proceeding to obstruct the certification of the presidential election” – appears to be Mr Trump’s former lawyer John Eastman.

Mr Eastman can be identified through the mention of co-conspirator 2 writing a “two-page memorandum” falsely outlining how then-vice president Mike Pence could overturn the 2020 presidential election on January 6.

This memo was first reported in Bob Woodward and Robert Costa’s book “Peril” before Mr Eastman himself released a longer six-page memo to the media laying out his claims.

Beyond the memo, quotes cited to co-conspirator 2 match quotes of Mr Eastman previously revealed in court in Georgia, including an email which read:“Although the President signed a verification for… back on Dec. 1, he has since been made aware that some of the allegations… has been inaccurate,” the email read.

“For him to sign a new verification with that knowledge… would not be accurate.”

Mr Eastman’s lawyer released a statement on Tuesday night where he slammed the indictment and ruled out any possibility that he could take a plea deal.

The indictment is “a misleading presentation of the record to contrive criminal charges against Presidential candidate Trump and to cast ominous aspersions on his close advisors,” attorney Charles Burnham said in a statement.

“If Dr. Eastman is indicted, he will go to trial. If convicted, he will appeal.”

The individual known as co-conspirator number one appears to be former New York City Mayor and Mr Trump’s former attorney Rudy Giuliani – who is widely-known to be a key player in Mr Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The indictment refers to co-conspirator 1 as an “attorney who was willing to spread knowingly false claims and pursue strategies that the Defendant’s 2020 re-election campaign attorneys would not”.

Multiple quotes attributed to co-conspirator 1 match those previously attributed to the former New York City mayor.

On 6 January 2021, co-conspirator 1 left a voicemail for a US senator, according to the indictment.

“We need you, our Republican friends, to try to just slow it down so we can get these legislatures to get more information to you,” he said.

“I know they’re reconvening at 8 tonight, but it … the only strategy we can follow is to object to numerous states and raise issues so that we get ourselves into tomorrow – ideally until the end of tomorrow.”

The quotes match a previously-obtained transcript of a call made by Mr Guiliani to Senator Tommy Tuberville that day.

Mr Giuliani’s attorney Robert Costelllo acknowledged to The New York Times that it “appears that Mayor Giuliani is alleged to be co-conspirator No. 1”. He went on to denounce the indictment as “election interference” and a violation of the first amendment.

Mr Giuliani railed against the historic indictment in an appearance on Newsmax on Tuesday night. “The people lying are the people bringing this… They should be indicted for conspiracy against rights,” he fumed.

A four-count federal indictment against Donald Trump accuses the former president of conspiring with his allies to overturn the results of a democratic election and deprive Americans of their constitutional rights in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.

Mr Trump knew he had lost the election but continued to pursue efforts to remain in power, including the so-called alternate elector scheme to fraudulently certify the results submitted to Congress, according to federal prosecutors.

A detailed, 45-page federal indictment on 1 August outlines three criminal conspiracies and Mr Trump’s alleged obstruction of the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, a multi-state scheme built on a legacy of lies and conspiracy theories to undermine the democratic process.

Here The Independent’s Alex Woodward breaks down the charges against the former president:

Donald Trump’s indictment cites six co-conspirators who conspired with him to try to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

The six individuals – four attorneys, one Justice Department official and one political consultant – were not names in the charging documents because they have not yet been charged with any crimes.

However, based on the details in the indictment, five of the six co-conspirators appear to be the following:

Co-conspirator 1: Former New York City Mayor and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani

Co-conspirator 2: Former Trump lawyer John Eastman

Co-conspirator 3: Former Trump “Kraken” lawyer Sidney Powell

Co-conspirator 4: Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark

Co-conspirator 5: Lawyer Kenneth Chesebro

Co-conspirator 6: Unclear

Donald Trump is now officially facing a third indictment – this time in connection with his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the lead-up to the January 6 insurrection.

The indictment charges Mr Trump with four federal counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

Read the indictment in full here:

On Tuesday, a grand jury indicted Donald Trump on four counts over his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

• Conspiracy to defraud the United States
• Conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding
• Obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding
• Conspiracy against rights

Besides criminal charges, former US president Donald Trump faces some civil lawsuits over his effort to overturn his 2020 election loss and for the 6 January 2021 assault on the US Capitol by his supporters.

Here is a look at those lawsuits and where they now stand.

Mr Trump has been sued by Democratic members of Congress and police officers over the Jan 6 riots at the US Capitol.

In one lawsuit, 10 Democrats claimed Mr Trump violated a Civil War-era law by seeking to prevent them from certifying the 2020 election results through the Capitol attack. Democratic representative Eric Swalwell has filed his own lawsuit making similar claims.

At least 14 law enforcement officers are suing Mr Trump over the assault, including 12 US Capitol police officers and two DC police officers. The estate of a Capitol Police officer who died after the attack has also sued the former president.

A federal appeals court in Washington DC is poised to rule on Mr Trump’s claims that he is immune from all of the lawsuits because they relate to actions he took while president. A trial judge in Washington last year rejected that argument, finding that Mr Trump was not immune from the claims.

Mr Trump faces a lawsuit in Washington from the NAACP civil rights group, the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization and three Detroit voters alleging he and his 2020 campaign tried to reverse his election loss by disenfranchising minority voters.

The lawsuit, which also names the Republican National Committee as a defendant, argues Mr Trump sought to suppress those votes by urging local officials to stop counting ballots and by raising what it said were “baseless challenges” to some ballots’ validity.

The RNC, Mr Trump and the Trump campaign all asked the court to dismiss the complaint.

A federal judge in Washington last April dismissed a claim that the defendants violated the Voting Rights Act but left a civil rights claim in place.

The parties are now clashing over whether the plaintiffs can amend the lawsuit a second time.

The evidence is overwhelming, but whether Donald Trump will be convicted is up to a jury of his peers, writes our columnist Ahmed Baba.

A four-count federal indictment against Donald Trump accuses the former president of conspiring with his allies to overturn the results of a democratic election and deprive Americans of their constitutional rights in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.

Mr Trump knew he had lost the election but continued to pursue efforts to remain in power, including the so-called alternate elector scheme to fraudulently certify the results submitted to Congress, according to federal prosecutors.

The indictment also lists six unnamed co-conspirators who are likely to include Trump-connected attorneys and former administration officials and advisers.