FRONTLINE traces the legal and political road that led to the federal criminal case against Donald Trump over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. The film moves from the vote count itself through the pressure campaign on state officials and the Justice Department, the rally on the Ellipse, and the January 6th attack on the Capitol, using news footage, hearing testimony, and interviews with reporters, former officials, and legal experts who watched the events unfold from the inside. It follows the House January 6th committee's investigation and the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith, laying out how evidence gathered by Congress became the basis for federal charges. The film treats the case as a test of institutions built to handle a president who refuses to concede, tracking how the Justice Department, courts, and Congress each responded under pressure. It closes without a verdict, because the case had not reached one, leaving the constitutional questions it raises still open at the time of broadcast.