Donald Trump did not act alone.
The indictment unveiled Tuesday accused Trump of enlisting six co-conspirators in “his criminal efforts to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election and retain power.”
It outlined five distinct ways in which Trump and his co-conspirators carried out the “unlawful” scheme to overturn the election results, including organizing a false slate of electors in seven swing states that Trump lost to Joe Biden. Those states included Wisconsin, Nevada and Georgia, where a local prosecutor is also scrutinizing the fake slate of electors.
According to the indictment, Trump and his co-conspirators also used false claims of election fraud to spur state lawmakers into action to “subvert the legitimate” results of the election.
“On the pretext of baseless fraud claims, the Defendant pushed officials in certain states to ignore the popular vote; disenfranchise millions of voters; dismiss legitimate electors; and ultimately, cause the ascertainment of and voting by illegitimate electors in favor of the Defendant,” the indictment said.
Trump and his co-conspirators also tried to use “the power and authority” of the Justice Department to conduct “sham election crime investigations” and fuel lies about the election. They also pressured Vice President Mike Pence to delay the certification of the election on Jan. 6, essentially seeking to enlist him in the conspiracy. (When he resisted, Trump at one point chided Pence for being “too honest.”)
Finally, according to the indictment, Trump and some of his co-conspirators stoked tension during the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The co-conspirators “exploited the disruption by redoubling efforts to levy false claims of election fraud,” the indictment said.
Although special counsel Jack Smith did not announce charges against any of the co-conspirators — nor are they named in the indictment — he could still be investigating their role in the plot to overturn the election results.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
