Palm Springs, CA
The United States is going through unprecedented historical times due to the legal predicament facing former president Donald Trump. The former president has now been indicted a whopping three times. The third indictment now in place has 4 counts related to obstructing the 2020 election process and Jan. 6.
The four counts in the latest indictment read as follows:
- Conspiracy to defraud the United States
- Conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding
- Obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding
- Conspiracy against rights.
California congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff both issued carefully worded statements, appearing to both validate the indictments but walk a fine line of ensuring their supporters that the former President, is innocent until proven guilty with a fair impartial trial.
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi statement reads, “The charges alleged in this indictment are very serious, and they must play out through the legal process, peacefully and without any outside interference. Like every criminal defendant, the former President is innocent until proven guilty. Our Founders made clear that, in the United States of America, no one is above the law – not even the former President of the United States.
“Through the meticulous and patriotic work of the bipartisan Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack, evidence was uncovered about the sinister plot to overturn the presidential election and prevent the peaceful transfer of power, which culminated in deadly insurrection. Now, following the Justice Department’s further investigation, a federal grand jury has indicted the former President.
“As this case proceeds through the courts, justice must be done according to the facts and the law.”
Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) statement reads, “Today, former President Donald Trump was indicted on four felony counts arising from his efforts to overturn the last presidential election. Although the prior charges against him in Manhattan and regarding his illegal retention of classified information at Mar-a-Lago are serious in their own right, this afternoon’s indictment is the most consequential as it goes to the heart of a president’s attempt to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in our nation’s history.
“These charges — based in large part on evidence we uncovered through our work on the January 6th Committee — and the trial that will follow, will put our democracy to a new test: can the rule of law be enforced against a former president and current candidate for president? For the sake of our democracy, we must hope that the answer is yes.
“In short, the Special Counsel’s indictment shows that Trump was repeatedly told and understood that he lost the election, and nevertheless spread lies about it. He pressured state officials to change the outcome, organized a fake elector plot, tried to use the Justice Department to further the scheme to defraud, pressured the Vice President to violate the law and constitution, and then tried to capitalize on the violence of January 6th to overturn the results. In doing so, he committed conspiracies to defraud, to obstruct, and to interfere with the right to vote among other offenses.
“During his trial, Donald Trump will have the same benefit of a presumption of innocence as any other American, and the government will carry the same heavy burden of proving his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. He should be subject to no lesser presumption by the jury and the government should be obligated to carry no heavier weight of proof by virtue of his former position or current status. A democracy requires no less, and anything other than that standard — to the degree of the difference — is not democracy. “These new charges will stress our justice system — all the more so because they will be mischaracterized by the former president’s allies in Congress who will seek to interfere in the prosecution, and have already demonstrated a willingness to put the pursuit of power over any other consideration, even their oaths of office. But the only thing more dangerous to our democracy than holding the powerful to account when they try to subvert our elections — would be the failure to do so.
“The interests of justice and our democracy must be served.”
Trump still significantly leads in the polls for Republican’s choice for President in 2024.