Jack Smith's superseding indictment in the 2020 election interference case against Donald Trump accomplishes three key things, one former U.S. attorney points out.
According to Harry Litman, the 36-page, slimmed-down, surprise filing, "1) removes the entire DOJ episode, inc Clark; 2) removes interactions with WH Counsel (so no testimony from Cipollone & Philbin?); & 3) casts Trump wherever possible as private candidate rather than President."
Jeffrey Clark, a former Trump administration Justice Department attorney, was completely erased from the revamped version, in which he was initially accused of his desire to send a letter to lawmakers in a series of states alleging the DOJ "identified significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the election," according to the Associated Press.
Top DOJ officials rejected the idea, but Clark's outspoken loyalty to the former president prompted Trump to publicly voice his idea to promote him to acting attorney general.
Litman noted a second edit to the reworked indictment deleted entire interactions between Trump and White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Pat Philbin, who at the time, urged Trump to accept the 2020 election results.
Thirdly, in the majority of the text, Trump is no longer referred to as "President." Instead, the indictment describes him as a "candidate," according to court documents reviewed by the Lawyer Herald.
The four conspiracy and obstruction-related charges in the new filing remain the same.
When the Supreme Court ruled on the case in July, the majority argued Trump could not face prosecution for conversations with DOJ officials because it was part of his core presidential duties, and as sitting president, he also had criminal immunity.
"The superseding indictment, which was presented to a new grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in this case, reflects the Government's efforts to respect and implement the Supreme Court's holdings and remand instructions in Trump v. United States," the special counsel's office said in a statement to CNN.
