Prosecutors claim that had Donald Trump not won the 2024 race, he would have been convicted of “criminal efforts to retain power” in the aftermath of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. A recent report issued by Attorney General Merrick Garland outlines charges filed by U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith, who says that Trump tried to interfere with the vote collection and certification process after losing to Joe Biden.
The report concludes the evidence against Trump would have had been enough for a conviction were it not that he was to be reelected in November. It avers, “As set out in the charging documents, when it became apparent that Mr. Trump had lost the election and legal processes for contesting the outcome were exhausted, he began a course of criminal action in an attempt to hold onto office.”
Trump, indicted in August 2023 for his efforts to overturn the election, has seen the case delayed by appeals and significantly narrowed by the conservative-majority Supreme Court, which ruled that former presidents enjoy broad immunity for official acts.
The news only sharpened Trump’s attack on the report. Hours before returning to the White House on January 20, the president attacked Smith as a “lamebrain prosecutor” who had failed to advance his case in public before the election. He further described Smith as “a disgrace to himself, his family, and his country” and continued the public derision he had waged against the special counsel throughout his investigation.
The report also covers a second charge against Trump, which pertains to his illegal retention of sensitive national security documents after his departure from the White House in 2021. The Department of Justice has decided not to publish this section of the report, as legal actions are still underway against two Trump associates.
Smith ultimately dropped both cases after Trump defeated Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, citing a long-standing Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president. Neither case went to trial.
Trump has repeatedly branded Smith as “deranged,” claiming that the investigations were political acts to sabotage his campaign and influence. Courts have rejected efforts by Trump to prevent the report from coming out. In related news, US District Judge Aileen Cannon ordered the Justice Department to delay plans to allow several leading members of Congress privately to view the relevant part of the report.
