Five takeaways from Smith’s report on Trump’s 2020 election case

Donald Trump’s attempts to sabotage his 2020 election campaign are detailed in the final report of the special counsel who spent two years investigating him.

Much of its 140-page document was previously known, thanks to a 2022 congressional investigation and past court filings by Jack Smith.

But it also sheds light on some of the evidence that Smith’s team uncovered and presents his views on some of the legal merits.

Trump, who will return to the White House next week, did not take long to respond to the release of the report, maintaining his innocence and calling Smith “confused”.

Here are five takeaways from the report.

The report refers to the riots that took place at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 – when Trump’s supporters entered the building to try to block the certification of Biden’s victory, after hearing a speech on the Ellipse in Washington DC by Trump, who lost.

The report said: “Trump’s words encouraged his supporters to engage in violence.”

It goes on to say: “Even Trump once told his supporters to ‘do it peacefully and lovingly.’ [their] word of mouth, he used the word ‘fight’ ten times in his speech.

Trump has vowed to return to office to pardon many of those convicted of crimes related to the riots, which he wanted to change as a “day of love”.

His defenders rejected the idea that he had deliberately inspired the crowd, pointing to the “peaceful” speech shown by Smith above.

The report details why Trump was indicted, and notes that Smith’s team decided to bring a “terrorist” charge against the president at the time.

The document says that Trump’s speech at the Ellipse on January 6, 2021 could meet the Supreme Court’s definition of solicitation, especially when viewed in conjunction with his “long and fraudulent campaign story”.

The report notes that the day’s violence was “clearly obvious” to Trump, for example, and that he tried to “inflame” the incident to delay Biden’s confirmation.

But Trump was not charged with incitement because Smith’s team did not find “direct evidence” of his intent to cause “full-scale violence” during the Capitol riots, making the verdict uncertain.

The document also states that there are “some strong cases available”.

Several men charged and convicted of involvement in the Capitol cited Trump’s influence as a motivating factor, the report said.

It quotes a few of the protesters including Alex Harkrider, who wanted to be released from prison before his trial, saying that “like thousands of others” he was “just responding to Trump’s pleas”.

Another man, David Mehaffi, seeking a reduced sentence, quoted Trump and added: “I trusted the president and it was a big mistake.”

What Smith does not acknowledge in his report is that it was in the best interest of these men to leave their positions.

In repeated, daily conversations, Trump asked his deputy to use his position as president of the Senate to change the outcome of the election without confirming the results, Smith’s report explains.

Pence refused, and at one point Trump told him that “hundreds of thousands” of people would “hate his guts” if he didn’t quit.

The deputy’s forced labor continued in public. In his speech, Mr Trump said he hoped Pence would do it but if he didn’t, “I wouldn’t like him anymore”.

Shortly after leaving the White House to speak at the Ellipse before the Capitol attack, Trump called Pence one last time, Smith says. After the vice president told him on the call that he didn’t have the power to carry out Trump’s demands, Trump told staff to reword the language he had written about Pence.

Moments later, Trump supporters were roaming the corridors of the Capitol chanting “hang Mike Pence”, and seeking his office.

Smith describes what happened while the police were on duty when a mob stormed the Capitol building, where at least 140 officers were beaten.

It said 123 defendants were charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing grievous bodily harm to police officers.

“The violence took a heavy toll,” the report said, noting that 223 policemen were injured with “‘invisible injuries’, including depression and other types of mental illness”.

One footnote also gives a more detailed account of the police’s feelings about the “survivor’s case”, “shell-shock” and “the inability to move since that day”.