Trump’s election interference trial explained: Everything to know about the case as new evidence revealed

A former president has been charged with crimes connected to his attempts to overturn the results of an American election.

The federal investigation into efforts by Donald Trump and his allies to subvert the outcome of the 2020 presidential election yielded four criminal charges, in a case that outlines a conspiracy to obstruct Joe Biden’s victory through a multi-state scheme, built on a legacy of lies and conspiracy theories to try to undermine the democratic process.

A case under Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith followed a grand jury vote to indict the former president in 2023 after months of evidence and witness testimony.

The former president claimed “immunity” from the charges, arguing that the actions outlined in the indictment against him were part of his official duties while in office that should be shielded from criminal prosecution.

After a lengthy appeals process, the Supreme Court agreed to hear his defense, and ultimately agreed in July that Trump has some immunity from prosecution for his actions while in the White House.

Smith’s team scrambled to file another indictment, retaining the same four charges against Trump while navigating the Supreme Court’s decision affirming that a president is “absolutely” immune from criminal prosecution for actions that stem from official duties in office, and given “presumptive” immunity for actions in the “outer perimeter” of those duties.

On October 2, 2024, Smith’s team unveiled the fullest account yet of Trump’s alleged crimes, laying out across 165 pages Trump’s “increasingly desperate efforts” to cling to power with “knowingly false claims of election fraud.”

The lengthy filing traces the history of Trump’s false claims of election fraud,