Republican

Tucker Carlson

Donald Trump

United

Former United States President Donald Trump has added independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to his transition team as he faces a federal re-indictment that alleges he tried to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election results.Kennedy, who launched his presidential campaign seeking Democratic Party nomination, made crypto and Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">BTC</a>) a central <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/how-crypto-politics-could-shape-the-next-us-presidential-election" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">campaign issue</a> during his run. He left the Democratic Party and ran as an independent before <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/rfk-jr-suspending-2024-presidential-bid" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">suspending his campaign</a> on Friday, Aug. 23, and endorsing Trump.Tulsi Gabbard — an ex-Democratic representative and 2020 presidential candidate who is a <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/what-top-us-politicians-and-potus-election-candidates-think-of-bitcoin" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">one-time crypto holder</a> — was also added to Trump’s team.“As President Trump’s broad coalition of supporters and endorsers expands across partisan lines, we are proud that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard have been added to the Trump/Vance Transition team,” Trump campaign senior adviser Brian Hughes <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-adds-rfk-jr-gabbard-transition-team-2024-08-27/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">told</a> Reuters on Aug. 27.Kennedy will “help pick the people who will be running the government” if Trump wins the November elections, he explained to ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson in an <a href="https://x.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1828190970795745447?t=5170" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">interview</a> on Aug. 26, where he revealed he was asked to join Trump’s team.Trump, the Republican Party nominee, is lagging behind Democratic nominee Vice President <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/donald-trump-vs-kamala-harris-on-crypto-regulations" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Kamala Harris</a> by 3.4 % in national polls, <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/national/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">according</a> to Aug. 27 FiveThirtyEight data.<figure><img alt="Trump adds RFK Jr to transition team as former president faces new indictment" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-08/019196d1-2d96-7278-abeb-3bc88be1f74a"><figcaption style="text-align: center;">Trump has trailed Harris in the polls since she became the Democrat’s favorite to nab the presidency. Source: FiveThirtyEight</figcaption></figure>Kennedy was polling at 4.6% before he suspended his campaign.<h2 id="strong-new-indictment-for-trump-strong">New indictment for Trump</h2>Meanwhile, Trump is facing a fresh federal indictment from a grand jury in Washington, D.C., which alleges he illegally tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.The superseding indictment <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67656604/226/united-states-v-trump/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">filed</a> on Aug. 27 lays out four charges federal prosecutors first pinned on Trump in August 2023: conspiracy to defraud the US, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of — and attempt to obstruct — an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/democrats-gravitating-crypto-paradigm-poll" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">US Democrats are ‘increasingly gravitating toward crypto’ — Poll</a>The revised indictment focuses on Trump as a candidate and citizen rather than as the incumbent president at the time after the US Supreme Court <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/scotus-sec-opinions-enforcement-crypto" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ruled in July</a> that Trump had “at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts” as president.In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113036147279528875" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">claimed</a> US Special Counsel Jack Smith “rewrote the exact same case in an effort to circumvent the Supreme Court Decision.”He had pleaded not guilty to the original indictment and added in his post that “the whole case should be thrown out and dismissed on Presidential Immunity grounds.”Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/crypto-voters-are-already-affecting-the-2024-presidential-election/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Crypto exposes sudden rift among Democrats months ahead of election</a>

Trump adds RFK Jr to transition team as former president faces new indictment

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