Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith is preparing to file what’s known as a “superseding indictment” against failed former president Donald Trump in the coming weeks, and the filing could include up to 45 new charges against the ex-president, according to Andrew Feinberg of The Independent.
The new indictment would include even more serious charges than the ones Trump is already facing.
The team of federal prosecutors working under Special Counsel Jack Smith is currently prepared to add an “additional 30 to 45 charges” in addition to the 37-count indictment brought against Mr Trump on 8 June, either in a superseding indictment in the same Florida court or in a different federal judicial district. In either case, they would do so using evidence against the ex-president that has not yet been publicly acknowledged by the department, including other recordings prosecutors have obtained which reveal Mr Trump making incriminating statements.
Smith is also planning to bring charges against several of Trump’s attorneys, including those who helped him spread lies about the 2020 election being stolen, which would include Rudy Giuliani, who has met with Justice Department investigators about what role he played in attempts to overturn the last presidential election.
A source familiar with the matter has said Mr Smith’s office will “most definitely” bring some charges against Mr Giuliani for his work on Mr Trump’s behalf in the weeks between the November 2020 election and the 6 January 2021 attack on the Capitol.
In addition to the laundry list of federal charges Trump is facing, he is also expected to be indicted in Fulton County, Georgia by District Attorney Fani Willis, who is also looking into efforts by Trump and his surrogates to have him declared the winner despite the fact that President Joe Biden won in an electoral landslide.
That probe, which is being conducted by Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis, is expected to result in multiple indictments which could be unveiled as early as next month. Ms Willis, who last year oversaw a special purpose grand jury probe into efforts by Mr Trump and his allies to reverse his loss to Mr Biden in Georgia, is reportedly considering indictments against the ex-president, his former attorney, top Republican figures in the state, as well as Mr Trump’s final White House chief of staff, ex-North Carolina congressman Mark Meadows.
In his home state of New York, Trump has already been indicted for falsifying business records to hide hush money payments made to adult film Stormy Daniels. And his company, the Trump Organization, is also being put under the microscope by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is expected to use civil charges to dismantle the company and dissolve its assets.