WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Special counsel Jack Smith filed a new indictment Tuesday against Donald Trump that keeps the same criminal charges but narrows the allegations against him following a Supreme Court opinion that conferred broad immunity on former presidents.
The new indictment removes a section of the indictment that had accused Trump of trying to use the law enforcement powers of the Justice Department to overturn his election loss, an area of conduct for which the Supreme Court, , said that Trump was absolutely immune from prosecution.
The stripped-down criminal case represents a first effort by prosecutors to comply with a Supreme Court opinion that made all but certain the Republican presidential nominee won't face trial before the November election in the case alleging he tried to thwart the peaceful transfer of power.
It comes days before prosecutors and defense lawyers are expected to tell the judge overseeing the case how they want to proceed in light of the Supreme Court's ruling, which said presidents are presumptively immune from prosecution for official White House acts. The high court sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who now must analyze which allegations in the indictment were unofficial actions 鈥� or those taken in Trump's private capacity 鈥� that can proceed to trial.
Prosecutors and Trump's legal team will be back in court next week for the first hearing in front of Chutkan in months, as Trump's immunity appeal worked its way through the justice system.
In a statement on his Truth Social platform, Trump called the new indictment 鈥渁n act of desperation鈥� and an 鈥渆ffort to resurrect a 鈥榙ead鈥� Witch Hunt.'鈥� He said the new case has 鈥渁ll the problems of the old Indictment, and should be dismissed IMMEDIATELY. 鈥�
The special counsel鈥檚 office said the updated indictment, filed in federal court in Washington, was issued by a grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in the case. It said in a statement that the indictment 鈥渞eflects the Government's efforts to respect and implement the Supreme Court's holdings and remand instructions.鈥�
The new indictment does away with references to allegations that could be deemed as official acts for which Trump is entitled to immunity in light of the Supreme Court鈥檚 ruling. That includes allegations that Trump tried to enlist the Justice Department in his failed effort to undo his election loss, including by conducting sham investigations and telling states 鈥� incorrectly 鈥� that significant fraud had been detected.
In its opinion, the Supreme Court held that a president鈥檚 interactions with the Justice Department constitute official acts for which he is entitled to immunity.
The original indictment detailed how wanted to send a letter to elected officials in certain states falsely claiming that the department had 鈥渋dentified significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the election,鈥� but top department officials refused.
Clark鈥檚 support for Trump鈥檚 election fraud claims led Trump to , who led the department in the final weeks of the Trump administration. Trump ultimately relented in that idea 鈥渨hen he was told it would result in mass resignations at the Justice Department," according to the original indictment. Rosen remained on as acting attorney general through the end of Trump's tenure.
The new case no longer references Clark as a co-conspirator. Trump鈥檚 alleged co-conspirators were not named in either indictment, but the details make clear their identities. The new indictment stresses that none of the other co-conspirators 鈥渨ere government officials during the conspiracies and all of whom were acting in a private capacity.鈥�
The new indictment also removes references to Trump's communications with federal government officials 鈥� like senior White House attorneys 鈥� who told him there was no evidence of fraud that would change the outcome of the 2020 election. It also removes references to certain Trump statements, including a claim he made during a White House press conference two days after the election about a suspicious dump of votes in Detroit.
The new indictment still includes one of the more stunning allegations brought by Smith 鈥� that Trump participated in a scheme orchestrated by allies won by Democrat Joe Biden who would falsely attest that Trump had won in those states.
It also retains allegations that to reject legitimate electoral votes, and that Trump and his allies exploited the chaos at the Capitol on Jan. 6 in an attempt to further delay the certification of Biden鈥檚 victory.
Chief Justice Roberts wrote in his majority opinion that the interactions between Trump and Pence amounted to official conduct for which 鈥淭rump is at least presumptively immune from prosecution.鈥�
The question, Roberts wrote, is whether the government can rebut 鈥渢hat presumption of immunity.鈥�
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from the ruling. In an excerpt from an interview with CBS News鈥� 鈥淪unday Morning鈥� that aired Tuesday, she said: 鈥淚 was concerned about a system that appeared to provide immunity for one individual under one set of circumstances. When we have a criminal justice system that had ordinarily treated everyone the same."
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Associated Press writers Mark Sherman, Lindsay Whitehurst and Maya Sweedler in Washington contributed to this report.
Eric Tucker And Alanna Durkin Richer, The Associated Press
