To win a conviction against former President Donald J. Trump for trying to subvert the results of the 2020 election, Jack Smith, the special counsel, is applying laws in ways that have never been used before.

Charlie Savage, a Washington correspondent for The Times, explains Mr. Smith’s approach and previews Mr. Trump’s likely response.

Guest: Charlie Savage (https://www.nytimes.com/by/charlie-savage?smid=pc-thedaily), a Washington correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• By layering varied charges atop the same facts, while sidestepping a free-speech question, the special counsel has structured the election indictment to reduce risk (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/04/us/politics/trump-indictment-jack-smith-charges.html).

For more information on today’s episode, visit 

nytimes.com/thedaily (http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily)

. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.