Experts say no naming of alleged conspirators may hasten Trump trial

By not naming or charging six alleged coconspirators in the indictment this week of former President Donald Trump federal prosecutors may be signalling their desire to expeditiously put the Republican presidential frontrunner on trial for seeking to overturn the 2020 election reported news agency APMore defendants mean more defence lawyers and more legal motions and more delays according to legal scholars and former prosecutors Such a large cast of defendants would make it extremely difficult for Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith to get Trump in front of a jury before the final stretch in the 2024 campaign the experts saidThis keeps it pretty streamlined said Christopher Ott a former federal prosecutor All of those motions by defendants affect all of the defendants including Trump It would slow things down If you dont name and charge them you dont have that troubleTrump 77 was indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington on Tuesday on felony charges of seeking to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 election and block the peaceful transfer of power to President Joe Biden The fourcount indictment chronicles a monthslong campaign by Trump and six unnamed coconspirators to spread lies about the election results falsehoods that resulted in a violent insurrection at the US CapitolIt includes charges of conspiring to defraud the US conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding and obstructing an official proceeding It also alleges Trump violated an 1800s law that makes it a crime to conspire to violate rights guaranteed by the Constitution in this case the right to voteIt is the third time this year that Trump has been charged with a criminal offence He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Miami on charges of illegally retaining top secret documents In New York Trump faces criminal charges in a hush money case and a civil trial over his business practices He could face further charges in Georgia where a county district attorney is investigating efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss in the stateThe indictment Tuesday alleges that Trump was aided in his efforts to overturn the election by six unnamed coconspirators The Associated Press has identified five of them through court and Congressional records and other meansCoConspirator 1 and CoConspirator 2 are lawyers Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman respectively Giuliani one of Trumps attorneys is described in the indictment as an attorney who was willing to spread knowingly false claims about the election Eastman advised and attempted to implement a strategy the indictment said that would have seen former Vice President Mike Pence reject the certification of the electoral voteCoConspirator 3 attorney Sidney Powell pushed election conspiracies that even Trump privately conceded sounded crazy the indictment alleged CoConspirator 4 is Jeffrey Clark a Justice Department official who championed Trumps false claims of election fraud CoConspirator 5 is lawyer Kenneth Chesebro whom the indictment alleges assisted in devising and attempting to implement a plan to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding CoConspirator 6 is an unknown political consultant who also assisted with the fake electors planIn deciding not to charge those six individuals legal scholars said Smith and his prosecutors were not just thinking about how to move quickly before the 2024 election They may also be feeling pressure to win a conviction before Trump or another Republican might capture the presidency and order a stop to the prosecution Smith may have been trying to find ways to simplify the unprecedented trial of a former president accused in the indictment of assaulting the bedrock function of the United States federal government the nations process of collecting counting and certifying the results of the presidential electionFour counts one defendant thats it said Jimmy Guruleacute a law professor at Notre Dame Not indicting the alleged conspirators doesnt mean they wont face charges Legal scholars in fact said they believed the alleged conspirators stand a strong chance of being indicted and going on trial perhaps after Trump faces a jury It doesnt mean they are off the hook said Randall Eliason a former federal prosecutor who is a George Washington University law professor Its just a question of timing and tactics The prosecution is very clearly saying Ive got you in my sightsAP