The previous indictment, which clocked in at 45 pages, had included what the US Supreme Court says is the kind of official-act evidence that can no longer be used in prosecuting presidents.
The replacement indictment — which uses the same font and spans 36 pages — removes references to Trump's presidential acts with surgical precision, said Michael Bachner, a former Manhattan prosecutor and frequent commentator on Trump's legal travails.
But in the new indictment, it's Trump the 2020 presidential candidate, not Trump the former president, who is charged.
AdvertisementIn refiling his indictment, Smith was smart to convene a new grand jury rather than re-submit the case to the original panel.
Still, the new indictment doesn't guarantee that judges won't throw out the case before it ever reaches a jury.
Persons:
—, Donald Trump's, Jack Smith, Michael Bachner, it's Trump, Trump, Smith, Candidate Trump, Jeffrey Clark, Bachner, Joe Biden, Trevor Morrison, Morrison, it's, Judge Chutkan, Jack, I'm, Hunt
Organizations:
Service, Business, Trump, Department, Bachner, Associates, DOJ, NYU, DC Circuit, Democracy
Locations:
Manhattan, Washington