Former President Donald Trump has sharply criticized Special Counsel Jack Smith for filing a superseding indictment that mirrors the four charges initially brought against him in connection with alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results .
In a Truth Social post, Trump called the updated indictment an attempt by Smith to revive "a dead" witch hunt. He further argued that the superseding indictment retains "all the problems of the old indictment" and asserted that it "should be dismissed."
Trump’s comments follow the return of a superseding indictment by a Washington, D.C., grand jury, which includes four charges: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
In a Truth Social post, former President Donald Trump condemned what he described as a “desperate” attempt by Special Counsel Jack Smith to “resurrect a ‘dead’ Witch Hunt” with a new indictment against him. Trump referred to Smith as “illegally appointed” and “Deranged” and argued that the updated indictment, which he views as flawed like the original, should be “dismissed IMMEDIATELY.”
Trump also mentioned that the “Florida Document Hoax Case” against him had been dismissed, claiming that the superseding indictment is merely an attempt to “interfere with the election.” He pointed out that in July, a Florida judge ruled that Smith had not been constitutionally or lawfully appointed, leading to the dismissal of that documents case.
Trump further accused the indictment of being an effort to distract Americans from issues like “the Border Invasion, Migrant Crime, Rampant Inflation, the threat of World War III, and more,” which he attributed to Vice President Kamala Harris.
The four charges in the new indictment—conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights—are the same as those previously brought against Trump. Following a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity in July, certain aspects of the original indictment were revised.
Special Counsel Jack Smith noted in a court document that the superseding indictment was presented to a new grand jury, which had not previously heard evidence in the case. This move, he explained, was in response to the Supreme Court's rulings and remand instructions in the case of Trump v. United States.