Donald Trump has been handed a fresh blow to his January 6 court case as US prosecutors have filed a new indictment against him.
Special counsel Jack Smith submitted a fresh indictment - described as "slimmed-down" in American media - against the former President on Tuesday evening.
It looks to prosecute Trump on a narrower election subversion charge to comply with the US Supreme Court judgment which ruled Presidents have "broad immunity from criminal prosecution".
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Smith has ditched the allegations that Trump sought to pressure the US Justice Department into overturning the result of the 2020 election - in what looks to be an effort to keep the case alive after Trump was ruled ineligible to be prosecuted for his conduct.
Pro-Trump protesters had stormed the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021GettyAlongside dropping the Justice Department charges, the new indictment also appears to have canned charges against Jeffrey Clark, a former justice official who was allegedly involved in the "fake electors" scheme.
In the US, states' votes reside in the hands of "electors" as part of the Electoral College - individuals who cast votes on behalf of their states following elections.
The scheme centred on an attempt to persuade Republican-controlled state legislatures in seven states to select Republican electors or not name any electors in states that Joe Biden won.
But the revised indictment still brings forward the four charges against the Republican former president as last year - focusing on Trump's role as a political candidate seeking reelection, rather than as the President at the time.
In an effort to clarify that the charges are levelled at Trump as an individual rather than as President, the 36-page document makes continuous reference to the "personal" or "privately-organised" nature of his actions.
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Trump had been ruled immune from prosecution for his actions in an "official" capacity
Reuters
Smith's indictment still accuses Trump of "spreading lies that there had been... fraud in the election and that he had actually won".
It also claims the then-President used "knowingly false claims of election fraud" to "overturn the legitimate results" of the election and "deceived" his supporters - who proceeded to descend on the Capitol building on January 6, 2021 in a day of chaos and unrest.
It reads: "A large and angry crowd - including many individuals whom the Defendant [Trump] had deceived into believing the Vice President could and might change the election results - violently attacked the Capitol and halted the proceeding.
"As violence ensued, the Defendant and co-conspirators exploited the disruption by redoubling efforts to levy false claims of election fraud and convince Members of Congress to further delay the certification based on those claims."
Trump's defence team expected the indictment would be rewritten like this
ReutersThe case was presented to a new grand jury which had not heard evidence from the original case, a Justice Department spokesman said.
According to a source familiar with the case, Trump's defence team expected the indictment would be rewritten like this in order to set up the next phase of the case after the court's ruling.
And though a hearing on the case was already scheduled for next Thursday, the indictment coming so soon was a surprise, the source told CNN.
Trump has previously pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.