Good evening. Today an indictment was unsealed charging Donald J. Trump with conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to disenfranchise voters, and conspiring and attempting to obstruct official proceedings. The indictment was issued by a Grand Rury of citizens here in the District of Columbia that sets forth the crimes charged in detail. I encourage everyone to read it in full.
The attack on our nation’s capital and January 6, 2021 was an unprecedented assault on the seat of american democracy. It is described in the indictment as 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. the men and women of law enforcement who defended the u.s. capitol on January 6 are heroes. They are patriots and they are the very best of us. They did not just defend a building with people sheltering in it, they put their lives on the line to defend who we are as a country and as a people. They defended the very institutions and principles that define the United States. Since the attack on our Capitol, the Department of Justice has remained committed to ensuring accountability for those criminally responsible for what happened that day.
This case is brought consistent with that amendment, and our investigation continues. In this case, our office will seek an expedient trial so that our evidence can be tested in court and judged by a jury of citizens. In the meantime, I must emphasize that the indictment is only an allegation and that the defendant must be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
I would like to thank the members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who are working on this investigation with my office, as well as the many career prosecutors and law enforcement agents from around the country who have worked on previous January 6 investigations. These women and men are public servants of the very highest order, and it is a privilege to work alongside them. Thank you.