Special Prosecutor Jack Smith filed a superseding indictment on Tuesday in the election interference case involving former President Donald Trump.
Trump still faces three conspiracy charges and one obstruction charge, but the allegations have been narrowed.
This change was made in response to a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling that stated Trump is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for his official acts, but no immunity applies to unofficial acts.
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Attorney and constitutional law expert Robert McWhirter joined Scripps News to explain exactly what's different about this new 36-page indictment.
"In substance, there's really not a lot different other than the parts of the count where the former president was actually soliciting help from his own Department of Justice in order to try to perpetuate this claim that there was election fraud, and to perpetuate that he should stay in office because of that," McWhirter said.
After the Supreme Court made its ruling on presidential immunity in July, many legal experts said the case was weakened. However, McWhirter believes this new indictment shows that Smith believes he still has evidence to prove his case against the former president.
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"I think what he [Jack Smith] is really trying to do is to avoid an extra argument for the defense," he said. "I don't think that the defense would even win on this. I don't think that the president soliciting a crime — even within his own Department of Justice or executive branch — is part of the president's official duties. But I think what Smith is doing is just avoiding them taking that argument and delaying the case."
You can watch Scripps News' full interview with Robert McWhirter in the video player above.
