Trump indictment – live: Trump cashes in on new charges as defence lawyers gear up for court

A four-count federal indictment against Donald Trump accuses the former president of conspiring with his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and deprive Americans of their right to have their votes counted.

Here are eight key points from the historic indictment of the former president.

Donald Trump will make another new court appearance on Thursday – this time charged with plotting to overturn his 2020 election defeat in a case his lawyers say is a deliberate bid to disrupt his 2024 presidential election campaign.

The former president is accused of four counts including conspiracy to defraud the United States, tampering with a witness, and conspiracy against the rights of citizens.

It is the culmination of inquiries into the 6 January, 2021 riot at the US Capitol in Washington DC.

Mr Trump, 77, denies wrongdoing.

Former Vice President Mike Pence’s testimony and handwritten notes describing private interactions with former president Donald Trump appear to have played a key role in securing charges against the twice-impeached, thrice-indicted ex-president for crimes allegedly committed while attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

The 45-page indictment against Mr Trump is at least partly based on contemporaneous notes taken by Mr Pence in the days between when he and Mr Trump lost the 2020 election and the January 6 attack on the Capitol that disrupted the final certification of their loss.

Read more from The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg:

One of the few Republican senators who voted to convict former president Donald Trump during his second impeachment trial for his role in the January 6 riot, said that the latest indictment showed the former president played an “active role” in instigating the chaos.

Eric Garcia reports from Washington, DC.

…despite all the evidence to the contrary.

The former president posted on Truth Social on Wednesday afternoon: \

I feel badly for Mike Pence, who is attracting no crowds, enthusiasm, or loyalty from people who, as a member of the Trump Administration, should be loving him. He didn’t fight against Election Fraud, which we will now be easily able to prove based on the most recent Fake Indictment & information which will have to be made available to us, finally – a really BIG deal. The V.P. had power that Mike didn’t understand, but after the Election, the RINOS & Dems changed the law, taking that power away!

Trump is a stunningly arrogant and reckless man, willing to gamble everything on a scheme that was unlikely to succeed and was quite likely to land him in legal jeopardy. But his incompetence doesn’t necessarily limit his ability to do harm, as some critics hoped when he began running for president in 2016. Instead, his obliviousness and blundering assault on the fabric of US democracy have made him a uniquely dangerous figure.

Alex Woodward explains how a sprawling Justice Department probe into the former president and his allies yielded four criminal charges in a stunning indictment outlining a path to power at whatever cost.

Another new poll is out suggesting that Democrats could have a stronger chance at winning in 2024 should President Joe Biden step aside for a younger successor.

The survey, published by The New York Times in partnership with Siena College, was released on Tuesday. It found low numbers of enthusiasm among Democrats for the re-nomination of either Mr Biden or a potential decision by the president against running for reelection in favour of endorsing his vice president, Kamala Harris, to run in his stead.

But the latter option was more popular among members of the president’s party by six percentage points, indicating that Democrats’ primary concern with the Biden brand is the stamina of the candidate himself.

There’s a catch, however… as John Bowden reports.

Within two hours after he was criminally charged for his failed efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, a political action committee connected to Donald Trump’s campaign sent out two fundraising emails to supporters.

One message – sent from the “Official Trump Store” – advertises a “limited-edition” commemorative “I Stand with Trump” T-shirt that includes the date of the latest indictment against him.

Alex Woodward has the details.