Donald Trump was indicted on federal charges for attempting to overturn the 2020 election results, a culminating moment in a third criminal investigation of the former US president as he seeks the Republican Party's nomination to run for office again next year.
On Tuesday, Special Counsel Jack Smith charged Mr Trump with three counts of conspiracy and one count of obstruction.
In a 45-page document, prosecutors accuse Mr Trump of repeatedly lying about the election results and engaging in a conspiracy to “disenfranchise millions of voters” by installing puppet representatives to support his election claims in Congress.
Mr Trump's claims of having won the election were “false, and the defendant knew they were false”, the indictment said.
“But the defendant repeated and widely disseminated them anyway – to make his knowingly false claims appear legitimate, to create an intense national atmosphere of mistrust and anger, and to erode public faith in the administration of the election.”
Despite losing the popular vote to Democrat Joe Biden by more than seven million votes, Mr Trump insisted he had won by a landslide.
Two months of false statements about the election results fuelled widespread anger among Mr Trump's base, who believed his claim the presidency had been stolen from him.
Their fury led to the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol, where a mob of Trump supporters broke into the building, shortly after the former president gave a speech during which he told supporters to “fight like hell”.
“The attack on our nation's capitol on January 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy,” Mr Smith said in brief remarks after the indictment was unsealed.
It was “fuelled by lies – lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the US government: the nation's process of collecting counting and certifying the results of the presidential election”.
Before the indictment was handed down, Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social media platform that he had expected to be indicted.
“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 favourite president,” he wrote.
Outside the federal courthouse in Washington, where a grand jury had been meeting in the case, local resident Nicky Sundt stood with a sign depicting Mr Trump with a Nazi swastika on his scalp.
“Trump and his supporters are a threat to our democracy,” Ms Sundt told The National.
“I'm here to support the indictment. He should be detained before a trial because he is prone to making inflammatory and provocative statements that pose a clear and present danger to the American public.”
The charges make for the second federal indictment Mr Smith has issued against the leading Republican presidential candidate. He is the first US president – former or sitting – to face federal criminal charges.
The Department of Justice appointed Mr Smith as an independent Special Counsel to oversee investigations related to the former president shortly after Mr Trump announced his White House bid in November 2022.
Since then, a grand jury in Florida issued dozens of criminal charges over Mr Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents after his presidency ended – to which he pleaded not guilty in June.
In a third criminal case, Mr Trump has been charged in New York with unlawfully paying hush money, through his lawyer at the time, to an adult film star during the 2016 election campaign. He has pleaded not guilty.
A bipartisan House of Representatives panel investigated Mr Trump's part in the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol and held historic public hearings on their findings.
The panel recommended that the Justice Department bring criminal charges against Mr Trump, including incitement of insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the US.
Seven people, including police officers, died in connection to the insurrection, and another 140 police officers were injured in the attack.
More than 1,000 people have been charged as part of the Justice Department's investigation into the day's events.
The case has been assigned to US District Judge Tanya S Chutkan.
January 6 insurrection – in pictures
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SPECS
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Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
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Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
HEADLINE HERE
- I would recommend writing out the text in the body
- And then copy into this box
- It can be as long as you link
- But I recommend you use the bullet point function (see red square)
- Or try to keep the word count down
- Be wary of other embeds lengthy fact boxes could crash into
- That's about it
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo 4-cyl
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Power: 190bhp
Torque: 300Nm
Price: Dh169,900
On sale: now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Quick facts on cancer
- Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases
- About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime
- By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million
- 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries
- This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030
- At least one third of common cancers are preventable
- Genetic mutations play a role in 5 per cent to 10 per cent of cancers
- Up to 3.7 million lives could be saved annually by implementing the right health
strategies
- The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.3-litre, turbo four-cylinder
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Power: 300hp
Torque: 420Nm
Price: Dh189,900
On sale: now
Aston martin DBX specs
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Top speed: 291kph
Price: Dh848,000
On sale: Q2, 2020
Brief scores
Day 1
Toss England, chose to bat
England, 1st innings 357-5 (87 overs): Root 184 not out, Moeen 61 not out, Stokes 56; Philander 3-46
