Trump Adds RFK Jr. to Transition Team Amid New Indictment Over 2020 Election

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has brought on Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a former Democratic presidential candidate, to his transition team. This announcement comes as Trump grapples with a revised federal indictment accusing him of attempting to overturn the 2020 election results illegally.

Kennedy, who made a significant impact by centering his campaign on cryptocurrency and Bitcoin, initially ran as a Democrat before switching to an independent candidacy. However, on August 23, he suspended his campaign and threw his support behind Trump. Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic Representative and 2020 presidential candidate known for her brief involvement in the crypto space, has also joined Trump’s transition team.

Kennedy Joins Trump

Kennedy is expected to play an important role in selecting key personnel for the administration if Trump secures victory in the upcoming November election. Kennedy himself confirmed his involvement during an interview with Tucker Carlson, where he revealed that Trump personally invited him to join the team.

Despite this strategic addition to his team, Trump, the Republican nominee, is currently trailing behind Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris by 3.4 percentage points as of August 27. Kennedy, before suspending his campaign, had been polling at 4.6%, with his stance on crypto winning him a dedicated following. Throughout his campaign, Kennedy consistently advocated for the crypto industry, pledging in May to end what he described as “regulatory hostility” towards digital assets if elected.

Trump’s New Legal Battle

Meanwhile, Trump is facing fresh legal challenges with a new federal indictment from a grand jury in Washington, D.C. This indictment accuses Trump of conspiring to defraud the U.S., obstruct an official proceeding, and conspire against rights, all in connection to his efforts to challenge the 2020 election outcome.

The indictment, filed on August 27, shifts the focus from Trump’s actions as president to his role as a candidate and private citizen, following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in July that granted him presumptive immunity for his official acts as president.

Trump has publicly criticized the new charges on his Truth Social platform, accusing U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith of rewriting the case to bypass the Supreme Court’s ruling.