WASHINGTON, USA — Former President Donald Trump would likely have been convicted of criminal charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, if not for his re-election in 2024, according to a newly released report by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
The report, unveiled by the Department of Justice on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, outlines evidence gathered during Smith’s investigation into Trump’s role in the events surrounding the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection and broader attempts to subvert the election results.
Smith’s office determined that the evidence was “sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial” on charges including conspiracy to obstruct the election certification and defraud the United States.
However, Trump’s victory in the 2024 election rendered prosecution impossible under constitutional and departmental constraints.
Constitutional Limitations
“The department’s view that the Constitution prohibits the continued indictment and prosecution of a president is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged,” Smith wrote in the report.
He emphasised that the decision to drop charges after Trump’s return to office was not a reflection of the merits of the case.
Smith added, “Indeed, but for Mr Trump’s election and imminent return to the presidency, the office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial.”
The investigation culminated in Trump’s indictment on four criminal counts in 2023, including charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstructing the certification of the 2020 election results.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges, repeatedly dismissing the investigation as politically motivated.
A Catalogue of Alleged Misconduct
The first volume of Smith’s report provides a detailed account of Trump’s actions following his 2020 defeat, including efforts to pressure state officials, promote baseless claims of voter fraud, and organise alternate slates of electors in states he lost.
“Significantly, he made election claims only to state legislators and executives who shared his political affiliation and were his political supporters, and only in states that he had lost,” the report states.
Smith highlighted Trump’s role in propagating “demonstrably and, in many cases, obviously false” claims about the election, which became the foundation of his attempts to overturn the results.
The report also reveals that prosecutors considered charging Trump under the Insurrection Act for inciting the January 6 Capitol riot but ultimately concluded that there was insufficient evidence to prove intent for the full scope of violence.
Political and Legal Challenges
Trump has consistently characterised Smith’s investigation as a politically motivated “witch hunt.”
Following the release of the report, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to denounce Smith as a “lamebrain prosecutor who was unable to get his case tried before the election.”
Smith rejected such claims in the report, asserting that his team was guided solely by the law and evidence.
“My office had one north star: to follow the facts and law wherever they led. Nothing more and nothing less,” he wrote.
The report also acknowledges the impact of a recent Supreme Court ruling that expanded presidential immunity, complicating efforts to hold Trump accountable for actions taken during his presidency.
Legacy of the Investigation
While Smith has since left the Justice Department, he defended the significance of the investigation despite its inability to proceed to trial.
“While we were not able to bring the cases we charged to trial, I believe the fact that our team stood up for the rule of law matters,” Smith wrote in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland.
“I believe the example our team set for others to fight for justice without regard for the personal costs matters.”
Unfinished Legal Proceedings
The report’s second volume addresses a separate investigation into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified national security documents after leaving office in 2021.
While the Justice Department has committed to withholding details of that case for now, legal proceedings against two Trump associates implicated in the matter remain ongoing.
As Trump prepares for his second inauguration on Monday, the legacy of the investigations into his conduct continues to cast a shadow over his return to the White House.
