A deep-dive into the 45-page indictment of the 45th President
The allegations are damning if true
"And fraud breaks up everything, doesn't it? When you catch somebody in a fraud, you're allowed to go by very different rules."
-Donald J Trump
Former President Donald J Trump is facing felony charges in addition to 74 other indictments handed down in two separate Grand Jury decisions.
The Grand Jury out of DC decided to indict him on four federal crimes (now totaling a potential 561 years in prison) related to his conduct following a brutal defeat in the 2020 election. Here are the charges as stated in the indictment.
Conspiracy to Defraud the United States
Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding
Obstruction of and Attempt to Obstruct an Official Proceeding
Conspiracy Against Rights
The indictment suggests Trump attempted to subvert the will of the people
With two months separating Election Day and the electoral vote count, the incumbent administration typically utilizes this time to help the incoming admin transition smoothly into their new roles.
Briefing the incoming administration is of dire importance, and a cordial transfer of power serves as a sort of unifier. It shows that in the face of defeat and oppositional beliefs, adherence to procedure is more important.
What this indictment details is how Trump and his co-conspirators (CC’s) knowingly lied about election fraud, and used the lies as the pretext for everything that transpired leading up to January 6th, 2021.
The indictment states that Trump conspired with a team of four different attorneys, a DOJ Official, and a political consultant (all of whom are unnamed) to cast doubt on the results of the 2020 election.
The purpose was to convince or trick state legislators, as well as election officials into casting electoral votes for himself rather than Biden, subsequently ignoring the results of their State’s popular election. This in turn would disenfranchise millions of voters, which is the basis for the Rights Violation charge.
The filing explicitly states that Trump knew full well that his claims were untrue before, during, and after the conspiracy unfolded. He was also told by many high-ranking government officials from various States, the White House, Intelligence Agencies, and his campaign manager that the election fraud narrative was false, and there was no evidence to substantiate it.
The early stages of the alleged conspiracy
After it was confirmed by Trump’s Campaign Legal Team that he had in fact lost the election, Trump turned to co-conspirator 1(CC-1), who would jump into action on his behalf to challenge the integrity, and ultimately the results of the election.
Systematically, Trump and his CC’s targeted a list of State Officials with claims that there were specific and egregious instances of voter fraud in their respective state elections. They filed lawsuits, insisted on recounts, audits, and forensic audits of voting machines, amongst other things. Even in the face of pushback from those they sought to sway, they continued down this road — far enough, there was no other option but to drive straight off a cliff.
It’s important to evaluate the veracity of the claims made by the the defendant (Trump) and his CC’s. Interestingly enough, some claims were based in some form of reality as “half-truths” tend to be. But the bar for truth is set at the actual truth — not a convenient version of it that serves a particular purpose.
Most of the claims were unsubstantiated, as determined by the Judges who presided over the courts at the time, as well as State Officials Trump targeted.
A closer look at Trump and his CC’s interactions with State Officials, as cited in the indictment
Here is the list of states within the sights of Trump and his CC’s:
Arizona
Georgia
Michigan
Nevada
New Mexico
Pennsylvania
Wisconsin
ARIZONA — Trump claimed there were 30,000 non citizens that voted.
As stated by the Arizona Speaker of the House, this was untrue. However, it is true that Arizona uses a “bifurcated system” that allows for people who cannot provide proof of citizenship to register, allowing them to vote only in Federal Elections, as Federal law doesn’t prohibit non-citizens from voting, according to a report by AZ Mirror. This system resulted in a total of 7,628 votes.
NEVADA — Trump claimed there were 10’s of thousands of double votes, amongst other instances of fraud.
In a report published by Fox News on December 4th, 2020, they state, “The Trump 2020 Campaign has filed a lawsuit in Nevada, telling a judge it has evidence that the names of deceased people appeared on ballots in last month's election -- and more than 42,000 instances of double votes.”
This case was ultimately thrown out as the Judge determined there was no evidence presented that substantiated a single claim by Trump, as reported by the Las Vegas Review Journal on December 4th, 2020.
“The contestants failed to meet their burden to provide credible and relevant evidence to substantiate any of the grounds set forth in (Nevada’s election contest statute) to contest the November 3, 2020 general election,” Russell wrote to close his 35-page order.
PENNSYLVANIA — Trump claimed that the ballots cast were in excess of 205,000, compared to the total number of registered voters. This has been proven incorrect.
Included in a SNOPES article was the official tally, which is sourced from the PA government website. It states that 75% of registered voters cast ballots, which disproves the allegations of excess votes. Evidence of Trump’s fraudulent behavior exists in the remaining four states. It’s clear there was little to no factual basis for the claims being made by Trump and his CC’s.
Trump and his co-conspirators knowingly misled the public, indictment suggests
Based on the communications and statements made by Trump and his CC’s, it seems as though the attorneys working on his behalf knew they were lying about every claim and challenge they made. Trump also seemingly knew none of the claims were true. Considering this context, it’s difficult to see something other than a coordinated and intentional attempt to destroy the foundational trust Americans had in the electoral process. The evidence shows it.
In the images included below you will see a generous amount of admissions from the defendant and his CC’s, all of which are contrary to their public statements.
CC-1 had attempted to convince the Arizona House Speaker to send alternate electors, dependent on “outcome-determinative election fraud.” When asked about evidence for such a determination, CC-1 proceeded to respond with words to the effect of:
“We do not have evidence, but we have lots of theories.”
Considering this is NOT a direct quote, it’s difficult to determine wether this is what was truly said, meant, or implied.
After multiple failed attempts at convincing the Arizona House Speaker to betray the oath he took to protect and uphold the constitution, CC-2 conceded that he “didn’t know enough about the facts on the ground,” in Arizona to even suggest there was impropriety. Yet, he pushed the Speaker to decertify the results anyway.
In a more overt example of Trump defrauding the public, elected officials, and the courts, he conceded that the idea of voting machines being manipulated to hand the election in Georgia to the opposition, “sounded crazy,” and was unsupported. CC-3 is accused of filing a fraudulent lawsuit to challenge the election results with zero evidence of irregularities. The evidence held within this indictment supports this charge.
As the congressional proceedings to certify Joe Biden’s victory grew closer, the attempts to compel the Governor of Georgia grew more desperate. On the infamous phone call where Trump allegedly told the Governor to “find” illegal ballots to put him over the finish line, Trump is also alleged to have made veiled threats of criminal charges towards the Governor, the GA Secretary of State, and the Governor’s attorneys if the Governor didn’t comply with his demands.
In regards to Michigan, Trump made a claim about a “ballot dump” that occurred the morning after the Election Day, which allegedly contained unaccounted-for ballots that should not have been counted over chain of custody concerns. Despite Trump’s repeated claims to the Governor and the public, the Governor denied such allegations.
After a meeting in the Oval Office, the Michigan House Speaker stated that they “examined these reports of voter fraud to the best of their ability,” but there was not enough evidence to support the assertions. He even declared his support for Trump in the election; however, he could not forgo his duty to ensure a free and fair election.
See the image below for his full quote.
The “Wisconsin Memo” seemingly acted as a catalyst for fueling the unsubstantiated claims
The events involving Wisconsin quickly became pivotal — relative to election fraud claims.
The memo drafted by CC-5 — it initially detailed the necessary steps to protect the rights of voters by drawing an alternate set of electoral votes in the event the recount turned up different results — morphed into calls for other states to draw alternate electors who would vote in favor of Trump regardless of the popular vote, or whether there was any lawful reason to do so.
The indictment specifically stated:
…and that on January 6, the Vice President should open and count the fraudulent votes, setting up a fake controversy that would derail the proper certification of Biden as president-elect.
Despite no evidence of such fraud, this was the course of action the former President thought was in the “public’s best interest.”
Read this email sent by an Arizona State Attorney, on December 8th, as a follow up to a phone call with CC-5.
I just talked to the gentleman who did that memo, [Co-Conspirator 5]. His idea is basically that all of us (GA, WI, AZ, PA,etc.) have our electors send in their votes (even though the votes aren't legal under federal law -- because they're not signed by the Governor); so that members of Congress can fight about whether they should be counted on January 6th. (They could potentially argue that they're not bound by federal law because they're Congress and make the law, etc.) Kind of wild/creative - - I'm happy to discuss. My comment to him was that I guess there's no harm in it, (legally at least) -- i.e. we would just be sending in "fake" electoral votes to Pence so that "someone" in Congress can make an objection when they start counting votes, and start arguing that the "fake" votes should be counted.
As January 6th grew closer, so did the desperation. Desperation is an ugly thing. The ironic declarations suggesting the country needed to be saved from cheats and liars were being disseminated by the actual cheats and liars. Allusions to the creative nature of the fraudulent measures these dissidents concocted, shows how far-off they were from the self-described “patriotic” efforts to “save the country” they really were.
How Trump allegedly used the DOJ to bring legitimacy to his fraud claims
The DOJ has been accused of weaponizing their law enforcement capabilities against American’s and Conservatives as of late.
While these characterizations were predicated on evidence discovered in court proceedings, whistleblower testimony, and files obtained in the “Twitter Files” reporting, it’s clear that the Biden Administration is not the only admin to have engaged in civil-war style misconduct.
Trump is accused of using the DOJ as a means of applying coercive pressure on states he sought to do his bidding.
In addition to meetings between Trump and CC-4 that were in direct contrast the Acting Attorney General’s direction, Trump asked the DOJ to send a letter to a number of states that would suggest the election was conducted illegally, and in a corrupt manner that warranted alternate slates of electors to be submitted. He prompted the DOJ to lie. CC-4, a top ranking DOJ official, requested that the Acting Attorney General (AAG) knowingly send this fraudulent letter.
After getting shut down by the AAG, Trump sat in a meeting with CC-4 and others where he expressed his frustration over the fact the AAG refused to do anything to “assist in overturning the results of the election.”
This eventually evolved into discussions on whether the VP should shirk his constitutional duties to change the results of the election.
January 6th, 2021
“The Defendant... watched events at the Capitol unfold on the television in the dining room next to the Oval Office.”
Despite ample attempts at convincing Mike Pence it was perfectly acceptable for him to delay the Electoral Vote count to ensure Biden was not certified as has historically been done without issue, Mike Pence ultimately spoke out against doing so at the proceedings.
By this time, the already partially violent crowd had descended upon the Capital, attacked police, and made their way into the building. Protestors and rioters alike chanted, “Where is Pence? Bring him out!” As well as, “Traitor Pence! Off with his head!”
This unrest followed an impassioned speech given by Trump where, amongst other rhetoric including some peaceful suggestions, Trump also told his supporters to “Fight like hell... or you won’t have a country anymore.” This is a key statement used to justify accusations of incitement to violence amongst Trumps critics.
The proceedings were delayed, but did conclude that same day — certifying Joe Biden’s victory.
Trump and his co-conspirators failed in their attempts to subvert due process, and the peaceful transfer of power.
Your reference here?
“the Biden Administration is not the only admin to have engaged in civil-war style misconduct”.
Arizona info is originally from OANN. A COMPLETELY illegitimate and not credible source.