Trump Would Have Been Convicted in Jan. 6 Case, Special Counsel Report Says

The report argues only “Trump’s election and imminent return to the presidency” negated that outcome

President-elect Donald Trump arrives on New Year's Eve at his Mar-A-Lago Club on December 31, 2024
Donald Trump arrives New Year's Eve to his Mar-A-Lago estate (Credit: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty Images)

Had Donald Trump actually faced a trial over the charges related to the Jan. 6 insurrection, he would have been convicted, Special Counsel Jack Smith said in his final report on the matter, submitted to Congress late Monday night (early Tuesday on the East Coast).

In fact, in the report, published Monday night by the New York Times, DoJ lawyers argue it is only because Trump was reelected president that he escaped justice for his attempts to illegally and then violently overturn the 2020 election.

“The department’s view that the Constitution prohibits the continued indictment and prosecution of a president is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the government’s proof or the merits of the prosecution, which the office stands fully behind,” the 187-page report read.

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