President-elect Donald Trump’s re-election in 2024 prevented his conviction for crimes tied to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, according to special counsel Jack Smith’s newly released report.

The Justice Department unveiled the 137-page document early Tuesday, obtained by the New York Times, and offered a detailed look at Trump’s actions following his 2020 loss.

“When it became clear that Trump had lost the election and that lawful means of challenging the election results had failed, he resorted to a series of criminal efforts to retain power,” Smith wrote.

Smith, appointed to investigate Trump’s efforts to subvert democracy after the January 6 Capitol riot of 2021, concluded that “but for Mr. Trump’s election and imminent return to the presidency, the office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial.”

The report underscored the Justice Department’s stance on presidential immunity, which halted Trump’s prosecution.

“The department’s view that the constitution prohibits the continued indictment and prosecution of a president is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged,” Smith wrote.

The investigation detailed […]