DLNews Politics:

Prosecutors are trying to prove that Trump knew his claims about stolen elections weren't true. He had a First Amendment right to challenge the election results, but his actions went beyond that.

The indictment cites multiple episodes in which White House officials, top Justice Department lawyers, and state lawmakers told Trump his fraud claims were false. He kept repeating them anyway.

January 6, 2021, attack

Few days in American history carry the weight of Jan. 6. That day marked the culmination of a series of criminal acts committed by former President Donald Trump and his aides to reverse a clear election result.

The indictment outlines how the defendant and his co-conspirators spread lies about electoral fraud to sow doubts about the cast votes and ultimately to subvert certification of Joseph R. Biden's victory in Congress. The indictment includes a conspiracy to defraud the United States and to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction, and conspiracy against rights.

The indictment also details how Trump and his aides tried to trick people into creating fake slates of electors in seven swing states where the defendant lost to Biden. The scheme was designed to create controversy at the certification proceedings in those states and position the Vice President, who would preside over the certification, to supplant Biden's actual electors with Trump's fake ones.

Who is Jack Smith

Last fall, a largely unknown prosecutor with a beard and brisk gait flew unnoticed to Washington from The Hague. He was summoned to a high-stakes meeting with Justice Department officials to discuss two investigations that have now indicted Trump, involving his efforts to subvert democracy and overturn an election he lost.

Jack Smith: The special counsel investigating Donald Trump

Smith, who referred to himself in the indictment as "the person who leads the Public Integrity Section," has an impressive track record. He headed the unit that brought a corruption case against former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell, who won acquittal on all counts after the Supreme Court overturned his conviction. The same team also investigated the former House majority leader Tom DeLay and closed that probe without charges.

A friend and former colleague described him to CNN last year as an " insane" triathlete and an attorney who leaves no stone unturned. At his arraignment in June, some observers speculated that Smith stared at Trump for much of the hearing, sizing him up.

Why is Trump still so popular?

Despite two impeachment trials and three indictments, Trump has cloned to half of the Republican vote. His supporters see every allegation against him as a reason to rally behind him.

The new charges accuse him of lying about election fraud. Prosecutors say that he knew his claims were false. They point to instances where close advisers told him the allegations were unfounded, and he kept making them anyway.

The indictment says that Trump and his co-conspirators organized fraudulent slates of electors to replace the legitimate ones in seven states he lost. They then allegedly pressured Mike Pence to use his ceremonial role in certifying the results on Jan 6. Establishing that Trump knew he was lying could be crucial in convincing a jury to convict him. He's in court Thursday for a hearing before Judge Tanya Chutkan in a building between the White House and the Capitol. He's likely to deny the accusations.

How many people voted?

Prosecutors say Trump lied about the number of votes in Arizona, California, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania. They also said he harmed the integrity of elections by sowing doubt about how many legitimate voters cast their ballots.

The indictment contained some already known details – such as talks between Giuliani and Eastman about how to promote false claims of fraud and pressure Pence to interfere with the certification process. But it did include a new account of a meeting between Trump and Pence in the Oval Office on Jan. 6.

It describes how the president pressed Pence to ignore the popular vote and push states to "disenfranchise millions of eligible voters; dismiss valid electors; disallow and discard votes by illegitimate Electors, including those pledged to Vice President Biden." But experts say the type of voter fraud Trump was alleging is scarce and would not have been enough to flip a close election.