'Trump’s election subversion': Here are 8 key elements of a possible Jack Smith Jan. 6 prosecution

Before the Summer of 2023 ends, Donald Trump could be the first former president in United States history to face four separate criminal indictments at once.

Trump is already up against a 37-count federal prosecution being conducted by special counsel Jack Smith for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and a 34-count prosecution by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Jr. in New York State. And his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results are the focus of criminal investigations by Smith for DOJ and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for the State of Georgia.

Trump has received a target letter from DOJ in Smith's case, indicating that an indictment is likely. And Willis, according to reports, appears to be gearing up for an indictment in August.

Politico's Kyle Cheney, in an article published on July 26, takes an in-depth look at what Smith's second Trump prosecution could look like if the former president is indicted.

"In a more than two-month blitz that ended in violence," Cheney reports, "Donald Trump lied, cajoled, inveighed and inspired his supporters to challenge the results of an election he lost. Now, special counsel Jack Smith appears on the verge of indicting Trump for those efforts."

The reporter continues, "Two and a half years have passed since the insurrection of January 6, 2021. Yet investigators are still piecing together the breadth of Trump's attempt to derail the transfer of power. It wasn't a singular plan, but in fact, was many disparate schemes, led by distinct groups of advisers who embraced increasingly fringe strategies and were not always working in harmony."

Cheney notes that the "exact charges" Smith may pursue if there is an indictment are "unclear," but he lays out the possible elements the case could include.

They are: (1) "The disinformation campaign," (2) "the Electoral College, Part 1: the states," (3) "the Electoral College, Part 2: The fake electors," (4) "Mulling the seizure of voting machines," (5) deploying the Justice Department," (6) "the Electoral College, Part III: pressuring Pence," (7) "The rally," and (8) "The riot."

"Key figures" in such a prosecution, according to Cheney, could range from former Trump lawyers (including Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, John C. Eastman and Sidney Powell) to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to former Vice President Mike Pence.

"Each arm of the effort was held together by one core lie with Trump at the center: that the election was stolen," Cheney writes. "And each tentacle has faced withering scrutiny from Smith's investigators, who may ask a federal grand jury any day now to approve criminal charges tied to Trump's election subversion, mere weeks after Smith charged Trump in a separate case for hoarding classified documents."

The Politico reporter continues, "But if and when Smith brings charges related to Trump's wide-ranging bid to cling to power, it will fall to the courts and a jury to determine whether Trump's conduct — no matter the broad powers and immunities of the presidency — crossed the line into criminality."