Donald Trump hits out at "corruption, scandal, and failure" after being charged with plotting to overturn the 2020 election result
"I have never had so much support on anything before," he claims after Tuesday's indictment
The charges follow an inquiry into the attack on the US Capitol in Washington DC on 6 January 2021
Trump is accused of "spreading lies" about election fraud for more than two months
In total, Trump has now been charged in three criminal cases - but experts say the latest could be the most serious
The other cases relate to secret documents, and payments to Stormy Daniels, a former porn star
Despite the criminal cases, Trump is the favourite to be the Republican candidate in the 2024 election
Donald Trump has been summoned to appear in court on Thursday to face new charges that allege he tried to overturn the 2020 election results.
The former president, who is running for re-election, faces a busy year ahead - both in court and on the campaign trail.
Here's an outline of the basic timeline of what awaits Trump in 2024.
Image source, .Smith wrapped up his brief statement by insisting the defendant, former president Donald Trump, "must be assumed innocent until proven guilty".
He walked away without taking any of the questions shouted out by the large group of reporters.
"My office will seek a speedy trial," special counsel Jack Smith says.
Trump is already scheduled to appear in two separate trials next year, during the 2024 election season.
The indictment coming from Smith's office today could add a third trial to Trump's 2024 calendar.
Read about Jack Smith here.
Image source, Getty ImagesSpecial Counsel Jack Smith
Smith says the "attack on our nation's capitol on January 6 2021 was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy".
He goes on to say the attack on the US Capitol was "fuelled by lies, lies by the defendant targeted at disrupting a bedrock function of the United States government".
Special counsel Jack Smith is addressing the media.
"Today an indictment was unsealed, charging Donald J Trump for conspiring to defraud the United States," he says.
Smith said the indictment details Trump's conspiratorial lies.
"I encourage everyone to read it in full," he said.
We're about to hear from special counsel Jack Smith, the person in charge of this investigation.
You can watch Smith give his statement by clicking the Play button at the top of this page.
We've just detailed the allegations behind the three conspiracy counts that Trump is facing.
The other charge - obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding - involves Trump's alleged attempts to obstruct the certification of 2020 electoral results.
The document goes through a host of Trump's actions on the day of the certification, including his messages to supporters to "fight like hell" and his efforts to persuade Vice President Mike Pence to certify the election results in his favour, despite Joe Biden's win.
As well as charging former president Donald Trump, the indictment mentions six unnamed Trump associates.
They have been described as co-conspirators.
According to prosecutors, the six associates helped spread Trump's false claims of election fraud.
The latest Trump indictment includes four charges, three of which are counts of conspiracy.
The indictment alleges that shortly after election day, Trump "pursued unlawful means" to subvert the election results.
The first conspiracy charge was handed down due to Trump's alleged use of "dishonesty, fraud, and deceit" to defraud the US.
The second was because of Trump's alleged attempts to "corruptly obstruct" the 6 January congressional proceeding of peaceful transfer of power to President Biden.
The third stems from allegations that Trump conspired against American's right to vote and to have their vote counted.
"Through pervasive and destabilizing lies about election fraud-- [Trump] targeted a bedrock function of the United States federal government," the indictment says.
We now have a statement from former president Donald Trump's campaign team, who claim the most recent indictment is "the latest corrupt chapter" to meddle with the 2024 presidential elections.
The statement goes on to say the fresh charges are part of "un-American witch hunts" and adds "the lawlessness of these persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany".
The statement blames a "weaponized" department of justice.
Image source, Getty ImagesWe're still combing through the 45-page indictment, but here are the main takeaways.
Trump has been charged with:
The unsealed indictment says the former US president "was determined to stay in power" and "spread lies" saying he had won in order to overturn the election.
"These claims were false, and the Defendant knew that they were false."
Trump has been summoned to appear in a Washington DC court on Thursday at 16:00 local time before Judge Moxila Upadhyaya.
Former US President Donald Trump has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the US, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy against the rights of citizens in an effort to overturn 2020 election result.
We’re currently working our way through the official document.
Stay with us as we bring you the latest updates and analysis as soon as we know more.
The grand jury has just returned a sealed indictment and the judge has approved a summons of an unnamed individual to appear in court.
Reporters are describing a dramatic moment in the courtroom - but as we wait for an indictment this move raises more questions than answers right now.
We will bring you further details as we get them.
Jon Donnison
Reporting from Washington DC
Image source, Getty ImagesIn a post on his Truth social media platform, former President Trump just said he expects to be indicted tonight.
He called it "another fake indictment" and an attempt to interfere in the 2024 presidential election campaign, being led by a "deranged" prosecutor.
There has been much speculation that an indictment over Trump's alleged interference in the 2020 presidential election and his role in the January 6 riot is imminent.
No other sitting or former US president has ever been indicted on criminal charges. For Donald Trump, this is potentially his third time. He's already due to stand trial next year in two separate cases.
All the while, according to opinion polls, he remains the outstanding favourite to win the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election and he has repeatedly said he will run for the White House even if convicted and jailed.
Trump has just posted on his own social media platform to air out frustrations - and perhaps fears - over a potential new indictment from special counsel Jack Smith.
"I hear that Deranged Jack Smith, in order to interfere with the Presidential Election of 2024, will be putting out yet another Fake Indictment of your favorite President, me, at 5:00 P.M. Why didn’t they do this 2.5 years ago?"
That's about 10 minutes away, if Trump is correct about the timing.
Grand jury members were seen leaving the federal courthouse in Washington DC earlier this afternoon.
Local media has reported that the foreman stayed behind.
It's still unclear whether the jury has voted on an indictment.
Image source, ReutersJack Smith is an independent lawyer who was appointed to oversee the US Department of Justice’s criminal investigations into former president Donald Trump.
Smith is a former New York prosecutor and most recently served as a chief prosecutor in The Hague - where he investigated war crimes in Kosovo.
He was named special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022, with Garland saying at the time that it was in the public’s interest to have a special counsel run the investigation and any prosecution.
The timing is important here, because Smith was brought into the fold just three days after Trump announced he would run for the 2024 presidency.
By handing the investigation off to a special counsel, the Biden administration could somewhat insulate itself from claims of bias and interference.
Although Trump and many Republicans have nonetheless called the investigation bias. The justice department said Smith was a registered political independent.
You can read more about the man who could take down Trump in this article.
Trump: 'We will never give up, we will never concede'
Members of Congress were meeting in the Capitol on 6 January 2021 to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, which Joe Biden won.
Donald Trump, who was still president at the time, addressed a large crowd of supporters at a "Save America" rally on the grounds between the White House and the Capitol building.
He urged them to march "peacefully" to the nearby Capitol, but also made unsubstantiated claims of massive voter fraud and told them to "fight like hell".
Later, hundreds of people forced their way into the government building through windows and doors, overwhelming the Capitol police.
You can read more about what happened on 6 January 2021 here.