Donald Trump faced a revised federal indictment accusing him of illegally trying to overturn his 2020 election loss, with prosecutors narrowing their approach after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that former presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution, writes Reuters.
U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team obtained the superseding indictment in the Washington case, though it was highly unlikely to proceed to trial ahead of the Nov. 5 election when the Republican Trump faces Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
The revised indictment lays out the same 4 charges prosecutors brought against the former president last year, but this one focuses on Trump’s role as a political candidate seeking reelection, rather than as the president at the time.
The Supreme Court ruled on July 1 that Trump is at least presumptively immune from criminal prosecution for actions that were within his constitutional powers as president.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington has been expected to decide in coming weeks which aspects of the case must be tossed out based on the Supreme Court’s immunity decision.
Attorneys for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.