New Delhi

The US Justice Department filed a new indictment against Donald Trump on Tuesday (Aug 27) over his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The new indictment, however, does not really change the criminal case against him. In fact, it gives Trump protection from arrest in the wake of a July US Supreme Court ruling saying that all US presidents have immunity for official acts but not unofficial ones. 

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"Today, a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned a superseding indictment, charging the defendant with the same criminal offenses that were charged in the original indictment," lawyers for Jack Smith, the special counsel handling the case, said.

"The superseding indictment, which was presented to a new grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in this case, reflects the Government’s efforts to respect and implement the Supreme Court’s holdings and remand instructions in Trump v United States."

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The document retains the same four criminal charges against Trump that were originally filed last summer. But parts of the new indictment are rewritten to add that Trump was not acting in his official capacity during his efforts to try to overturn the election.

The Supreme Court wrote in its July ruling that Trump was "absolutely immune from prosecution" over his discussion with Justice Department officials.

The Supreme Court also suggested that a president could be criminally immune in connection to acts between him and the vice president. 

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"The defendant had no official responsibilities related to any state’s certification of the election results," the document says.

Prosecutors also highlighted that Trump used his Twitter account (now X) both for official and personal acts. 

What next?

The case is still unlikely to go to trial before the 2024 presidential election in November. 

In response to the new indictment, Trump railed against those responsible on Truth Social, declaring that it should be "dismissed immediately" and that "no Presidential Candidate, or Candidate for any Office, has ever had to put up with all of this Lawfare and Weaponization directly out of the Office of a Political Opponent".

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"The whole case should be thrown out and dismissed on Presidential Immunity grounds, as already ruled unequivocally by the U.S. Supreme Court," he wrote in one of a series of posts.

He added in another: "What they are doing now is the single greatest sabotage of our Democracy in History."

9With inputs from agencies)