Category: fox-news/politics/justice-department

Hunter Biden indicted on federal gun charges

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Hunter Biden was indicted Thursday on federal gun charges out of Special Counsel David Weiss' investigation. 

Biden was charged with making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm; making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer; and one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance. 

According to the indictment, "on or about October 12, 2018, in the District of Delaware, the defedant, Robert Hunter Biden, in connection wiht the acquisition of a firearm, that is, a Colt Cobra 38SPL Revolver with serial number RA 551363…knowingly made a false and fictitious written statement, intended and likely to deceive that dealer with respect to a fact material to the lawfulness of the sale of the firearm…in that the defendant, Robert Hunter Biden, provided a written statement on Form 4473 certifying he was not an unlawful user of, and addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, and any other controlled substance, when in fact, as he knew, that statement was false and fictitious." 

The indictment also states that "on or about October 12, 2018 through on or about October 23, 2018, in the District of Delaware, the defendant Robert Hunter Biden, knowing that he was an unlawful user of and addicted to any stimulant, narcotic drug, and any other controlled substance…did knowingly possess a firearm, that is, a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver with serial number RA 551363, said firearm having been shipped and transported in interstate commerce." 

COMER TO PURSUE HUNTER, JAMES BIDEN PERSONAL BANK RECORDS AS NEXT STEP IN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

These are the first charges Weiss has brought against the first son since being granted special counsel status. 

Fox News first reported in 2021 that police had responded to an incident in 2018, when a gun owned by Hunter Biden was thrown into a trash can outside a market in Delaware.

COMER SUBPOENAS MAYORKAS, SECRET SERVICE OVER TIP-OFF OF 2020 HUNTER BIDEN TAX PROBE INTERVIEW

A source with knowledge of the Oct. 23, 2018, police report told Fox News that it indicated that Hallie Biden, who is the widow of President Biden's late son, Beau, and who was in a relationship with Hunter at the time, threw a gun owned by Hunter in a dumpster behind a market near a school.

A firearm transaction report reviewed by Fox News indicated that Hunter Biden purchased a gun earlier that month.

On the firearm transaction report, Hunter Biden answered in the negative when asked if he was "an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance."

Hunter Biden was discharged from the Navy in 2014 after testing positive for cocaine.

The charges come after an original plea agreement collapsed in July. Hunter Biden was expected to plead guilty in July to two misdemeanor tax counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax as part of a plea deal to avoid jail time on a felony gun charge.

Hunter Biden was forced to plead not guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and one felony gun charge.

Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped Weiss to serve as special counsel with jurisdiction over the Hunter Biden investigation and any other issues that have come up, or may come up, related to that probe.


This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

Comer to pursue Hunter, James Biden personal bank records as next step in impeachment inquiry

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FIRST ON FOX: House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer will pursue personal and business bank records belonging to Hunter Biden and James Biden as the next step in the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden, Fox News Digital has learned. 

Comer, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, and House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, who are leading the formal House impeachment inquiry, briefed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on the status of their probe into Biden’s alleged corruption. 

COMER DEMANDS STATE DEPT. EXPLAIN 'SUDDEN' DECISIONS LEADING TO FIRING OF UKRAINIAN PROSECUTOR PROBING BURISMA

During the meeting Thursday morning, Comer, R-Ky., laid out House Republicans’ findings since July related to the president’s alleged involvement in his family’s business dealings, and next steps in their investigation. 

A source familiar told Fox News Digital that Comer will now pursue bank records from the personal and business accounts belonging to the president’s son Hunter and his brother, James. 

The source said Comer will also seek additional transcribed interviews with Hunter Biden business associates, including Eric Schwerin and Rob Walker. 

DEVON ARCHER: HUNTER BIDEN, BURISMA EXECS ‘CALLED DC’ TO GET UKRAINIAN PROSECUTOR FIRED

The source also told Fox News Digital that the House Oversight Committee could hold a public hearing related to the investigation in the coming weeks, but a witness for that expected hearing has not yet been decided. 

Since July, the committee took a transcribed interview from Hunter Biden’s business associate Devon Archer, who claimed then-Vice President Joe Biden was "the brand" Hunter sold around the world to foreign business partners. Archer also testified that Biden joined conference calls with Hunter’s business partners and attended business dinners with his son’s foreign associates in Washington D.C. 

HOUSE GOP RELEASE BANK RECORDS ON HUNTER BIDEN PAYMENTS FROM RUSSIAN, KAZAKH OLIGARCHS, TOTAL CLEARS $20M

Also this summer, Comer released the third bank records memo, revealing that the Biden family and their business associates received millions of dollars from oligarchs in Russia, Ukraine and Kazahkstan during the Obama administration. Those records revealed the family received more than $20 million from these business arrangements during that time period. 

Comer has also sought information from the National Archives related to the Biden family’s alleged misuse of Air Force Two, and all unredacted documents in which Biden used a pseudonym—Robin Ware—to communicate with his son Hunter Biden. 

WITNESS SAYS JOE BIDEN TALKED TO HUNTER’S BUSINESS ASSOCIATES; GOP SEES SMOKING GUN, DEMS DOWNPLAY

More broadly, Comer, Jordan and Smith have interviewed whistleblowers who allege politics influenced all prosecutorial decisions throughout the Justice Department’s years-long federal investigation into Hunter Biden. Those allegations led to Attorney General Merrick Garland granting U.S. Attorney from Delaware David Weiss—who has been leading the probe—special counsel authority. 

Meanwhile, earlier this week, Comer sought information from Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the "sudden foreign policy decisions" during the Obama administration that led to the dismissal of the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating Burisma Holdings while Hunter Biden sat on the board of the company.

The State Department has not yet turned over those records. 

The White House maintains that President Biden was "never in business with his son."

Garland to testify at House Judiciary Committee amid probe into DOJ’s alleged politicization

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Attorney General Merrick Garland will testify next week before the House Judiciary Committee amid allegations that the federal investigation into President Biden’s son has been influenced by politics.

The committee, led by Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, announced the hearing, titled "Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice," will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 10:00 a.m.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS DEMAND RECORDS FROM HUNTER BIDEN ATTORNEYS RELATED TO COLLAPSED 'SWEETHEART' PLEA DEAL

"The hearing, ‘Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice,’ will examine how the Justice Department has become politicized and weaponized under the leadership of Attorney General Merrick Garland," the committee’s announcement states.

The House Judiciary Committee has been investigating the alleged politicization of the Justice Department throughout the Biden administration.

Most recently, IRS whistleblowers came to Congress to testify that prosecutorial decisions made throughout the years-long federal investigation into Hunter Biden have been influenced by politics.

Those whistleblowers claimed David Weiss, who served as U.S. attorney for Delaware and led the investigation, requested special counsel authority and charging authority but was denied by the main Justice Department.

Amid pressure, Garland appointed Weiss special counsel in August with jurisdiction over the Hunter Biden investigation and any other issues that have come up, or may come up, related to that probe.

The hearing comes amid a formal impeachment inquiry against President Biden. 

GOP asks unlikely Biden admin ally to step in to stop NM’s ‘unconstitutional power grab’

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FIRST ON FOX: Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are demanding U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland step in and protect the Second Amendment rights of New Mexico residents following Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s order temporarily banning open and concealed carry. 

"Governor Grisham has issued an order which is being used to blatantly trample on the Second Amendment rights of the citizens of New Mexico, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) must act swiftly to stop this unconstitutional power grab," a group of Republican senators wrote to Garland on Wednesday in a letter exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital. 

The letter was spearheaded by Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, who was joined by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, Texas Sen. John Cornyn, Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton. 

"By preventing certain New Mexicans from exercising their constitutional rights to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home, Governor Grisham is violating the Second Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment, and Article IV of the Constitution," the senators continued.

NEW MEXICO GOV. GRISHAM SWIPES AT FELLOW DEMOCRAT WHO CALLED HER GUN CARRY BAN UNCONSTITUTIONAL

"This is a chilling action, and it is imperative that your Department act immediately to show that this kind of unconstitutional abuse will not be tolerated in New Mexico or anywhere else in the United States."

NRA SLAMS DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR'S GUN ORDER, ISSUES HARSH ADVICE

Lujan Grisham temporarily suspended open and concealed carry laws in Bernalillo County, where Albuquerque is located, for at least 30 days in an executive order announced Friday. The announcement was spurred by the fatal shootings of a 13-year-old girl in July, a 5-year-old girl in August and an 11-year-old boy this month. 

The announcement shocked New Mexico residents, with more than 100 people forming a protest in Old Town Albuquerque on Sunday, where they defied the order and openly carried firearms. Protesters formed another rally Tuesday on Albuquerque's Civic Plaza.

Gun rights groups have also slammed the governor as enacting an "unconstitutional" order that stripped law-abiding citizens of their rights to bear arms. 

NEW MEXICO REPUBLICAN LEGISLATORS CALL FOR DEM GOV. GRISHAM'S IMPEACHMENT AFTER GUN ORDER: 'SHE'S ROGUE'

"In a shocking move, Governor Lujan Grisham is suspending Second Amendment rights by administrative fiat, ignoring the U.S. Constitution and the New Mexico Constitution. Instead of undermining the fundamental rights of law-abiding New Mexicans, she should address the soft-on-criminal policies which truly endanger its citizens," NRA-ILA Executive Director Randy Kozuch told Fox News Digital earlier this week. 

The governor has been hit with at least four lawsuits over the order, which all argue the rule defies the U.S. Constitution. 

"Gov. Luhan Grisham is throwing up a middle finger to the Constitution and the Supreme Court," said Dudley Brown, president of the National Association for Gun Rights, one of the groups that filed a suit against Lujan Grisham. 

The governor's press secretary Caroline Sweeney told Fox News Digital on Sunday that the "order does not suspend the Constitution but instead state laws over which the governor has jurisdiction."

Sweeney added that the governor "was elected to serve the people of New Mexico, and not a day goes by that she doesn’t hear from a constituent asking for more to be done to curb this horrific violence."

The Democratic governor has also come under fire from members of her own party, including California Rep. Ted Lieu, who posted this week that the order "violates the U.S. Constitution," and liberal gun control activist David Hogg, who echoed the California lawmaker.

NEW MEXICO ATTORNEY GENERAL WON'T DEFEND GOVERNOR'S GUN ORDER

Democratic New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez additionally sent Lujan Grisham a letter this week outlining that he will not defend her administration against the recent lawsuits because he believes the order does not pass "constitutional muster."

"Though I recognize my statutory obligation as New Mexico's chief legal officer to defend state officials when they are sued in their official capacity, my duty to uphold and defend the constitutional rights of every citizen takes precedence. Simply put, I do not believe that the Emergency Order will have any meaningful impact on public safety but, more importantly, I do not believe it passes constitutional muster," New Mexico AG Raul Torrez wrote in his letter to Lujan Grisham. 

NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN TAKING UP FIREARMS CLASSES FOR SELF DEFENSE: 'REFUSING TO BE VICTIMS'

The Republican senators added in their letter to Garland that the fatal shooting of an 11-year-old boy in New Mexico this month was "horrific" and "inexcusable," and said they would work with the Department of Justice to "combat violent crime in communities across the nation." The senators, however, continued that the governor overstepped her bounds in issuing the order and called on Garland to uphold and enforce the Constitution. 

"While the public health order may invoke state law to authorize this unconstitutional infringement, it should be no match for the authority which the DOJ has to enforce our rights under the U.S. Constitution. That is why we are calling on you to enforce the Constitution and intervene on behalf of the constitutional rights of New Mexicans to stop this unconstitutional act from standing," the senators said. 

House Republicans accuse Hunter Biden’s attorneys of intimidating IRS whistleblowers in letter to AG Garland

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House Republicans sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday accusing Hunter’s Biden legal team of engaging in a "brazen effort to intimidate and harass" the two Internal Revenue Service whistleblowers in the Hunter Biden tax probe.

Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Jason Smith, R-Mo., and James Comer, R-Ky., accused Biden’s attorneys of intimidating IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who recently alleged political interference in the prosecutorial decisions throughout the years-long federal probe into the president's son.

The letter accused Biden’s lawyers of having "slandered" the whistleblowers as "disgruntled" and of "urging" the Department of Justice to prosecute them.

"Federal law protects whistleblowers from retaliation, and efforts to intimidate these whistleblowers raise serious concerns about potential obstruction of the Committees’ investigation," the letter read. "Accordingly, we request information about any attempts by Hunter Biden’s legal team to encourage the Department to take action against IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler."

IRS WHISTLEBLOWER FLAMES GARLAND, WEISS: SPECIAL COUNSEL NEEDED TO ‘INVESTIGATE THE INVESTIGATION'

The letter pointed to a New York Times article that said Biden’s legal team "have contended to the Justice Department that by disclosing details about the investigation to Congress, they broke the law and should be prosecuted."

The Republicans are giving the DOJ until 5:00 p.m. on Sept. 26 to produce any letters or communications from Biden’s lawyers to the DOJ "advocating for the investigation or prosecution of Mr. Shapley or Mr. Ziegler," as well as any documents and communications between his attorneys and the DOJ referring or relating to a criminal investigation or prosecution of Shapley or Ziegler.

Garland is scheduled to testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee for a standard oversight hearing on Sept. 20.

Fox News has reached out to the DOJ and Biden’s attorneys, Abbe Lowell and Chris Clark, for comment.

The letter comes the same day that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is expected to endorse an impeachment inquiry into President Biden for his alleged involvement in his son's business dealings.

Trump to plead ‘not guilty’ to charges stemming from special counsel’s Jan. 6 probe

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WASHINGTON D.C.--Former President Donald Trump on Thursday will plead ‘not guilty’ in federal court to all four federal charges stemming from Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into 2020 election interference and the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, sources familiar said. 

Trump, the 2024 GOP front-runner, is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

Trump traveled from his resort in Bedminster, N.J., Thursday to Washington D.C. His first court appearance took place at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. 

TRUMP INDICTED ON CHARGES OUT OF SPECIAL COUNSEL PROBE INTO JAN 6

US Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhaya is presiding over Thursday's proceedings. Judge Tanya Chutkan will preside over the trial. Chutkan, a former assistant public defender before her appointment to the bench by President Barack Obama, has handled several cases involving individuals who entered the Capitol on January 6.

Trump posted to his Truth Social late Wednesday saying that the case "will hopefully be moved to an impartial Venue, such as the politically unbiased nearby State of West Virginia!" 

"IMPOSSIBLE to get a fair trial in Washington, D.C., which is over 95% anti-Trump, & for which I have called for a Federal TAKEOVER in order to bring our Capital back to Greatness," Trump posted. "It is now a high crime embarrassment to our Nation and, indeed, the World. This Indictment is all about Election Interference!!!" 

The indictment comes out of Smith's investigation into whether Trump or other officials and entities interfered with the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election, including the certification of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021.

On Jan. 6, 2021, pro-Trump rioters breached the U.S. Capitol during a joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College results in favor of President Biden.

The House of Representatives drafted articles of impeachment against him on a charge of inciting an insurrection for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot — making him the first and only president in history to be impeached, and ultimately acquitted, twice. 

This is the second federal indictment the former president faces out of Smith’s investigation. Trump, who leads the 2024 GOP presidential primary field, has already pleaded not guilty in federal court in the Southern District of Florida to 37 counts related to his alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency.

SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH SAYS JAN 6 ‘FUELED BY LIES’ FROM TRUMP, PRAISES ‘HEROES’ WHO DEFENDED CAPITOL

Those charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false statements. Trump was charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of that probe last week.

Trump is the first former president in U.S. history to face federal criminal charges. 

The former president posted again to his Truth Social Thursday morning, accusing the Biden administration of bringing criminal charges against him to drain funds from his 2024 presidential campaign. 

"Look, it’s not my fault that my political opponent in the Democrat Party, Crooked Joe Biden, has told his Attorney General to charge the leading (by far!) Republican Nominee & former President of the United States, me, with as many crimes as can be concocted so that he is forced to spend large amounts of time & money to defend himself," Trump said. "The Dems don’t want to run against me or they would not be doing this unprecedented weaponization of "Justice." BUT SOON, IN 2024, IT WILL BE OUR TURN. MAGA!"

Campaign finance documents show Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner, burned through at least $42.8 million this year, much of it used to cover costs related to his mounting legal peril. The former president has $31.8 million cash on hand.

Trump has also pleaded not guilty to 34 counts in New York in April stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation. Trump is accused of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

Trump to appear in federal court after being charged with crimes related to Jan 6

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Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to appear in federal court in Washington, D.C., Thursday afternoon after being indicted on charges that stem from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into 2020 election interference and the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump, the 2024 GOP front-runner, faces four federal charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

The former president is expected to travel from Bedminster, New Jersey, to Washington, D.C., on Thursday. He was ordered to appear in federal court for a 4 p.m. arraignment.

TRUMP INDICTED ON CHARGES OUT OF SPECIAL COUNSEL PROBE INTO JAN 6

This is the second federal indictment the former president faces out of Smith’s investigation. Trump, who leads the 2024 GOP presidential primary field, has already pleaded not guilty to 37 counts related to his alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency.

Those charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false statements. Trump was charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of that probe last week.

Trump is the first former president in U.S. history to face federal criminal charges. 

"The Defendant, Donald J. Trump, was the forty-fifth President of the United States and a candidate for re-election in 2020. The Defendant lost the 2020 presidential election," Smith’s indictment states. "Despite having lost, the Defendant was determined to remain in power."

Smith alleged that "for more than two months following election day on November 3, 2020" Trump "spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that he had actually won." It lists various claims that Trump's team made during post-election state challenges in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

"These claims were false, and the Defendant knew that they were false," Smith alleged. "But the Defendant repeated and widely disseminated them anyway — to make his knowingly false claims appear legitimate, create an intense national atmosphere of mistrust and anger, and erode public faith in the administration of the election."

Smith said Trump, between Nov. 14, 2020, and Jan. 20, 2021, "did knowingly combine, conspire, confederate, and agree with co-conspirators, known and unknown to the Grand Jury, to defraud the United States by using dishonest, fraud and deceit to impair, obstruct and defeat the lawful federal government function by which the results of the presidential election are collected, counted, and certified by the federal government."

SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH SAYS JAN 6 ‘FUELED BY LIES’ FROM TRUMP, PRAISES ‘HEROES’ WHO DEFENDED CAPITOL

There are six unnamed co-conspirators in the indictment.

Reacting to the charges, a Trump campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement that "this is nothing more than the latest corrupt chapter in the continued pathetic attempt by the Biden Crime Family and their weaponized Department of Justice to interfere with the 2024 Presidential Election, in which President Trump is the undisputed front-runner, and leading by substantial margins."

"But why did they wait two and a half years to bring these fake charges, right in the middle of President Trump’s winning campaign for 2024? Why was it announced the day after the big Crooked Joe Biden scandal broke out from the Halls of Congress?" the spokesperson wrote.

"The answer is, election interference!" the spokesperson continued. "The lawlessness of these persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the former Soviet Union, and other authoritarian, dictatorial regimes."

"President Trump has always followed the law and the Constitution, with advice from many highly accomplished attorneys," the spokesperson added.

The indictment comes after Trump had announced that he received a target letter from the Justice Department, which also asked that he report to the federal grand jury. Trump said he anticipated "an arrest and indictment."

Smith was investigating whether Trump or other officials and entities interfered with the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election, including the certification of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021.

On Jan. 6, 2021, pro-Trump rioters breached the U.S. Capitol during a joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College results in favor of President Biden.

The House of Representatives drafted articles of impeachment against him again and ultimately voted to impeach him on a charge of inciting an insurrection for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot — making him the first and only president in history to be impeached, and ultimately acquitted, twice.

The Senate voted to acquit but, had Trump been convicted, the Senate would have moved to bar the 45th president from holding federal office ever again, preventing a 2024 White House run.

Trump has also pleaded not guilty to 34 counts in New York in April stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation. Trump is accused of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign.

Elsewhere, prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, are looking to wrap up their criminal investigation into Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state.

Legal experts slam Jack Smith for bringing ‘lousy’ case against Trump: ‘Disinformation indictment’

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Legal experts are criticizing special counsel Jack Smith for his latest indictment against Donald Trump for accusing the former president of spreading disinformation and other activities protected by the First Amendment.

Trump was indicted out of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation related to 2020 election interference and the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, and is facing charges such as conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.

"The most jarring thing about this indictment is it basically just accuses him of disinformation — this is a disinformation indictment," said legal scholar Jonathan Turley, a professor of public interest law at George Washington University and a Fox News contributor.

"It said [Trump] was spreading falsehoods, that [he] was undermining integrity of the election — that is all part of the First Amendment," Turley said. "And I think that courts will look skeptically."

TRUMP INDICTED ON CHARGES OUT OF SPECIAL COUNSEL PROBE INTO JAN 6

Turley said that one thing that is noticeably absent from the indictment is a charge for "conspiracy for incitement" or "seditious conspiracy."

"Those were the claims the Democrats used in the impeachment and said the evidence was absolutely clear, people like (Rep.) Adam Schiff and others saying [Trump] is clearly guilty of those crimes," Turley explained. "Well, they’re not in here."

He added: "I think there are some serious legal problems with this indictment."

Andy McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor and assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and a Fox News contributor, told Fox News Digital that Smith brought "a lousy case."

"I think all the counts have significant legal problems, and that’s even before you get to the complex problems of trying to prove Trump’s intent," McCarthy said.

SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH SAYS JAN 6 ‘FUELED BY LIES’ FROM TRUMP, PRAISES ‘HEROES’ WHO DEFENDED CAPITOL

McCarthy said that one "significant problem" is the fraud that Smith has alleged.

"It is not actionable fraud as the Supreme Court has described fraud — as recently as May," McCarthy said. "The Supreme Court made very clear that fraud in federal law is a scheme to swindle someone out of money or physical property."

McCarthy added that this is "exactly the kind of case" the court was telling prosecutors not to bring, "and he brought it anyway."

McCarthy also dismissed the "conspiracy against rights" charge that Smith brought against Trump.

"Smith is using a statute enacted right after the Civil War, which was actually directed at violent intimidation by the Ku Klux Klan against Black voters in the South — which doesn’t have any connection to what we’re talking about here," McCarthy explained. "They applied that law to ballot box stuffing, so what Smith is trying to tease out of that case is what then-Justice Thurgood Marshall said in the 1960s: You don’t have to have violence. You just have to have activity that functionally cancels out people’s votes."

TRUMP PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO 37 FEDERAL FELONY CHARGES IN CLASSIFIED RECORDS CASE

McCarthy said the "most insidious thing" the special counsel does is "he doesn’t charge Trump with any violence because there is no connection."

"The Justice Department would love to charge Trump with seditious conspiracy, but the problem is, he said he supported a peaceful march on the Capitol," McCarthy said. "That may have been a stupid thing to do, but not a criminal thing to do."

McCarthy told Fox News Digital that Smith alleges that Trump "exploited the violence at the Capitol riot."

"That’s an unseemly thing for a prosecutor to do when he is not charging Trump with the Capitol riot," McCarthy explained. "Inconveniently for him, he has no evidence that Trump orchestrated them, or intended for them to do it."

McCarthy added that Smith put this into the indictment so he can argue that he "needs Capitol riot evidence in the trial."

"And then he’ll try to rush the trial in the run-up to the election," McCarthy said. "Then the American electorate will have Capitol riot imagery in the front of their minds as they go to vote in 2024."

DESANTIS CALLS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT REFORMS AFTER TRUMP JANUARY 6 INDICTMENT 

But not every legal expert says Smith's case is weak. Laurence Tribe, professor of constitutional law emeritus at Harvard University, told Fox News Digital that Smith has brought an "airtight" indictment against the former president.

"The factual details, if true as claimed, leave Trump with no legitimate legal defenses," Tribe said. "And the sources for all the damning direct quotations, including those by Mr. Trump himself, are all individuals he hand-picked for their loyalty to him — they have no conceivable motive to lie. And there’s no chance they’re misremembering anything so stark."

Tribe told Fox News Digital that Trump’s "only hope to avoid conviction" on this latest set of charges is "to get someone installed as president who would pardon him or get the Justice Department to drop the case."

Smith announced the charges against Trump on Tuesday, saying Jan. 6 was "an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy."

"Described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies — lies by the defendant — targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the U.S. government: the nation's process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election," he said.

Trump has been ordered to appear in federal court in Washington, D.C., for his arraignment on Thursday at 4:00 p.m.

This is the second federal indictment the former president faces out of Smith’s investigation. Trump, who leads the 2024 GOP presidential primary field, has already pleaded not guilty to 37 counts related to his alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency.

Those charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements. Trump was charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of that probe last week.

Trump indicted on charges out of Special Counsel probe into Jan. 6

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FIRST ON FOX: Former President Trump was indicted Tuesday on charges stemming from Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump was indicted on four federal charges out of the probe, including conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights.

This is the second federal indictment the former president faces out of Smith’s investigation. Trump, who leads the 2024 GOP presidential primary field, has already pleaded not guilty to 37 counts related to his alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency.

Those charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements. Trump was charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of that probe last week.

This is the second time in U.S. history that a former president has faced federal criminal charges.

"The Defendant, Donald J. Trump, was the forty-fifth President of the United States and a candidate for re-election in 2020. The Defendant lost the 2020 presidential election," Smith’s indictment states. "Despite having lost, the Defendant was determined to remain in power."

Smith alleged that "for more than two months following election day on November 3, 2020," Trump "spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that he had actually won."

"These claims were false, and the Defendant knew that they were false," Smith alleged. "But the Defendant repeated and widely disseminated them anyway — to make his knowingly false claims appear legitimate, create an intense national atmosphere of mistrust and anger, and erode public faith in the administration of the election."

Smith alleged that Trump, between Nov. 14, 2020 and Jan. 20, 2021, "did knowingly combine conspire, confederate, and agree with co-conspirators, known and unknown to the Grand Jury, to defraud the United States by using dishonest, fraud and deceit to impair, obstruct and defeat the lawful federal government function by which the results of the presidential election are collected, counted, and certified by the federal government."

There are six unnamed co-conspirators in the indictment.

Reacing to the charges, a Trump campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital that "this is nothing more than the latest corrupt chapter in the continued pathetic attempt by the Biden Crime Family and their weaponized Department of Justice to interfere with the 2024 Presidential Election, in which President Trump is the undisputed frontrunner, and leading by substantial margins."

TRUMP SAYS HE IS DOJ JAN. 6 GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION TARGET

"But why did they wait two and a half years to bring these fake charges, right in the middle of President Trump’s winning campaign for 2024? Why was it announced the day after the big Crooked Joe Biden scandal broke out from the Halls of Congress?" the spokesperson asked.

"The answer is, election interference!" the spokesperson continued. "The lawlessness of these persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the former Soviet Union, and other authoritarian, dictatorial regimes."

"President Trump has always followed the law and the Constitution, with advice from many highly accomplished attorneys," the spokesperson said. "These un-American witch hunts will fail and President Trump will be re-elected to the White House so he can save our Country from the abuse, incompetence, and corruption that is running through the veins of our Country at levels never seen before."

The spokesperson added: "Three years ago we had strong borders, energy independence, no inflation, and a great economy. Today, we are a nation in decline. President Trump will not be deterred by disgraceful and unprecedented political targeting!"

The indictment comes after Trump had announced he received a target letter from the Justice Department, which also asked that he report to the federal grand jury. Trump said he anticipated "an arrest and indictment."

TRUMP PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO 37 FEDERAL FELONY CHARGES IN CLASSIFIED RECORDS CASE

Smith was investigating whether Trump or other officials and entities interfered with the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election, including the certification of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021.

On Jan. 6, 2021, pro-Trump rioters breached the U.S. Capitol during a joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College results in favor of President Biden.

The House of Representatives drafted articles of impeachment against him again and ultimately voted to impeach him on a charge of inciting an insurrection for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot — making him the first and only president in history to be impeached, and ultimately acquitted, twice.

The Senate voted to acquit, but had Trump been convicted, the Senate would have moved to bar the 45th president from holding federal office ever again, preventing a 2024 White House run.

Trump has also pleaded not guilty to 34 counts in New York in April stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation. Trump is accused of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign.

DURHAM FINDS DOJ, FBI 'FAILED TO UPHOLD' MISSION OF 'STRICT FIDELITY TO THE LAW' IN TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE

Elsewhere, prosecutors in Fulton County, Ga. are looking to wrap up their criminal investigation into Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state.

A special grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, released portions of a report detailing findings from the investigation earlier this year, which indicated a majority of the grand jury believes one or more witnesses may have committed perjury in their testimony and recommends that prosecutors pursue indictments against them, if the district attorney finds the evidence compelling.

The special grand jury spent about seven months hearing testimony from witnesses, including high-profile Trump allies, such as attorney Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and high-ranking Georgia officials, including Raffensperger and Gov. Brian Kemp.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Trump says he expects indictment from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 probe

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Former President Trump said he expects to be indicted out of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Jan. 6 on Tuesday evening, and slammed the looming charges as election interference.

"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." Trump posted on his Truth Social. "Why didn’t they do this 2.5 years ago? Why did they wait so long?"

He added: "Because they wanted to put it right in the middle of my campaign. Prosecutorial Misconduct!"

This would be the second federal indictment the former president faces out of Smith’s investigation. Trump, who leads the 2024 GOP presidential primary field, has already pleaded not guilty to 37 counts related to his alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency.

TRUMP PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO 37 FEDERAL FELONY CHARGES IN CLASSIFIED RECORDS CASE

Those charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements. Trump was charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of that probe last week.

This would be the second time in U.S. history that a former president has faced federal criminal charges.

Trump had announced he received a target letter from the Justice Department, which also asked that he report to the federal grand jury. Trump said he anticipated "an arrest and indictment."

Smith was investigating whether Trump or other officials and entities interfered with the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election, including the certification of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021.

DURHAM FINDS DOJ, FBI 'FAILED TO UPHOLD' MISSION OF 'STRICT FIDELITY TO THE LAW' IN TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE

On Jan. 6, 2021, pro-Trump rioters breached the U.S. Capitol during a joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College results in favor of President Biden.

The House of Representatives drafted articles of impeachment against him again and ultimately voted to impeach him on a charge of inciting an insurrection for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot — making him the first and only president in history to be impeached, and ultimately acquitted, twice.

The Senate voted to acquit, but had Trump been convicted, the Senate would have moved to bar the 45th president from holding federal office ever again, preventing a 2024 White House run.

Trump has also pleaded not guilty to 34 counts in New York in April stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation. Trump is accused of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign.

Elsewhere, prosecutors in Fulton County, Ga. are looking to wrap up their criminal investigation into Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state.