Special counsel Jack Smith addressed the nation on Tuesday evening after a federal grand jury indicted former President Donald Trump on multiple felony charges related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
“Today, an indictment was unsealed charging Donald J. Trump with conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to disenfranchise voters, and conspiring and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding,” Smith said.
Smith encouraged everyone to read the indictment for themselves and reminded that public that Trump is innocent until proven guilty.
“The attack on our nation’s capital on January 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy,” Smith said. “As described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies, lies by the defendant, targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the U.S. government — the nation’s process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election.”
Smith said that law enforcement officials who defended the U.S. Capitol were “heroes” and “patriots.”
“In this case, my office will seek a speedy trial so that our evidence can be tested in court and judged by a jury of citizens,” he said. “In the meantime, I must emphasize that the indictment is only an allegation and that the defendant must be presumed innocent until proven guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt, in a court of law.”
In a brief statement after Trump was indicted, special counsel Jack Smith described the US Capitol insurrection as an “unprecedented assault” that was “fueled by lies” from the former president. He encouraged Americans to read the indictment. https://t.co/SgPMoJYCBG pic.twitter.com/NrzOK26hmj
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) August 1, 2023