Donald Trump Faces Prospect of Fifth Indictment

Donald Trump could be facing a fifth criminal indictment following reports he pressured Michigan election figures to overturn the result of the 2020 election.

According to The Detroit News, citing a leaked recording of a phone call by someone the publication said was present for the conversation, Trump personally pressured two Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers, Monica Palmer and William Hartmann, not to sign the certification of the election results in the state, which Biden won by 154,000 votes. It reports Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee, was also involved in the call.

Newsweek contacted representatives for Trump by email and McDaniel by social media to comment on this story. Newsweek has been unable to independently verify the recording. The Detroit News reported that spokespeople for Palmer, McDaniel and Trump did not dispute a summary of the call. Hartmann died in 2021.

The former president and GOP frontrunner is facing a federal case brought by special counsel Jack Smith alleging he worked to overturn the results of the election, won by President Joe Biden. Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing, has been charged with conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding, obstructing a congressional proceeding and conspiracy against rights.

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump gestures as he wraps up a campaign event on December 19, 2023 in Waterloo, Iowa. A leaked recording claimed the former president pressured Michigan election officials to overturn the result of the 2020 election. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

While the recording has been described by attorney Joe Gallina as “perfect evidence” against the former president and “another smoking gun” in the federal trial, other commentators have speculated that the evidence could be grounds for a fifth criminal indictment on bribery charges.

Anthony Michael Kreis, a law professor and political scientist at Georgia State University College of Law, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Trump could face “a fifth set of charges” because offering a lawyer could be considered a bribe under the Michigan Penal Code, which is a felony.

The recording alleged McDaniel said: “If you can go home tonight, do not sign it… We will get you attorneys.”

Trump reportedly added: “We’ll take care of that.”

Alongside an extract of the code, Kreis wrote: “It seems like Ronna McDaniel could be in some trouble in Michigan and Donald Trump may be facing a fifth set of charges. A promise was offered in exchange for an official act unlike in Georgia where the preferred method appears to have been limited to browbeating state officials.”

Ian Bassin, a former associate White House counsel, said: “My guess is the Michigan attorney general is reviewing the statute of limitations on Michigan Code Section 750.118.”

Section 750.118 of the Michigan Penal Code says executives who accept or offer a gift “or to do any act beneficial to such officer” with an understanding that “his vote, opinion or judgement shall be given in any particular matter” must forfeit his office, be disqualified for holding any other public office and could face a prison sentence of up to 10 years of a fine of up to $5,000.

Meanwhile, former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance said: “Offering an official something of value (services of a lawyer) in exchange for withholding official action (certifying the Wayne County vote) sounds like a classic case of bribery under Michigan State law.”

However, Mark Shanahan, an associate professor in politics at the University of Surrey in the U.K., said that while a Michigan indictment “may make judicial sense,” further charges against Trump could help his campaign.

“Anyone looking to bring more charges against Donald Trump needs to be aware of the fine balance at play,” he told Newsweek. “Of course, when there is clear evidence that a crime has been committed, the perpetrator should be brought to justice. But is such a febrile political environment, any DA needs to consider both timing and impact of further charges against the former president.

“Each time the courts seek to rein Trump in, his polling numbers rise and money floods into his campaign—the Colorado Supreme Court has given him a tremendous Christmas present. And each new set of charges enables him to double down on his victim story and press harder on the story he’s peddling on the politicization of justice. While an indictment out of Michigan may make judicial sense, if it happens in the coming weeks, it may simply give more ammunition to the Trump campaign to dismiss it as a political pile-in and in so doing, boost the chances of a second Trump presidential term.”

Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesperson, told The Detroit News Trump’s actions “were taken in furtherance of his duty as president of the United States to faithfully take care of the laws and ensure election integrity, including investigating the rigged and stolen 2020 presidential election.”

“President Trump and the American people have the constitutional right to free and fair elections,” Cheung said.

In his four criminal indictments, the GOP frontrunner is facing a total of 91 felony charges—two involving alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, one regarding the alleged mishandling of classified documents that he retained when he left the White House, and one regarding hush money payments to former adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in all of his cases.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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