<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0MkNYN_0vsM5yq200" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0MkNYN_0vsM5yq200" width="1400" height="788" >SCOTT DETROW, HOST: Federal prosecutors are providing the most detailed look yet at their election interference case against former President Donald Trump. In court papers unsealed this afternoon, the Justice Department describes how Trump allegedly conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The 2024 election is, of course, five weeks away at this point. NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson has been racing to read the court papers, and she's here now to explain them. Hey, Carrie.CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: Hey, Scott.DETROW: So again, this is a case brought by special counsel Jack Smith. It is not going to trial this year, so why are we seeing these court filings now?JOHNSON: We're seeing them now because the Supreme Court ruled this past summer that Trump and future presidents enjoy substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts they take in the White House. This filing is the Justice Department's attempt to explain that Trump should not be immune from conspiracy charges because, DOJ says, he was acting as a candidate and not as president when he advanced bogus claims about election fraud. Prosecutors say Trump was a private citizen motivated by personal gain, and just like anyone else, he should stand trial for these alleged crimes.DETROW: This is a 165-page document. In the luxurious amount of time that you've had to read it since it came out to bringing it to us now, have you found anything new?JOHNSON: A few new things, yes. Prosecutors assert that on January 6, 2021, as rioters were rampaging through the Capitol, Trump himself was personally tweeting from a dining room off the Oval Office. They mention a tweet that attacked his vice president, Mike Pence. And within a minute of that tweet, the Secret Service evacuated Pence from the Capitol. Rioters actually got pretty close to Pence before he could be ushered to safety. An aide told Trump that things at the Capitol were turning dicey, prosecutor say, but Trump allegedly said so what? There are also some new details about notes Pence took about his conversations with Trump and the fact that Trump spoke with podcaster Steve Bannon the morning before the Capitol riot. A couple hours later, Bannon said on his podcast that all hell was going to break loose on January 6.DETROW: The Pence details are interesting because Trump's legal team has already signaled that they're going to argue that anything related to Mike Pence deserves legal protection. Why is that?JOHNSON: Trump's lawyer John Lauro recently said in court that Pence should be off limits because he was a government official having conversations with the president. He said if DOJ tries to include Pence in any case, they're going to appeal all the way up to the Supreme Court. But today, prosecutors said they're leaving out some evidence they got from Pence. They're only going to focus on Pence's very narrow role in charge of the certification proceeding on January 6. They say the president and the executive branch have no authority to choose the next president.DETROW: What happens to all of this if Trump wins the presidential election that's coming up in a few weeks?JOHNSON: You know, it's pretty widely expected Trump will direct his next attorney general or acting attorney general to get rid of this federal case in D.C. altogether. He said he may deliver pardons to many of the 1,500 people who've been charged with crimes related to that siege on the Capitol. But prosecutors have signaled they want to keep working through election day. And the judge in this case says she's not taking the election calendar into account. If Trump loses the presidency, it's possible this case could go to trial but probably not before 2026. The Supreme Court is likely going to want to consider additional questions about immunity. This is, after all, the first federal prosecution in history against a former president.DETROW: Right. That's NPR's Carrie Johnson. Carrie, thank you so much.JOHNSON: My pleasure.Copyright © 2024 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.</div></body>

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Judge unseals new evidence against Trump in the Jan. 6 election interference case

Federal prosecutors are providing the most detailed look yet at their election interference case against former President Donald Trump. In court papers unsealed this afternoon, the Justice Department describes how Trump allegedly conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The 2024 election is, of course, five weeks away at this point. NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson has been racing to read the court papers, and she's here now to explain them. Hey, Carrie.

Judge unseals new evidence against Trump in the Jan. 6 election interference case

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