In a significant development related to Donald Trump’s January 6 election interference, special counsel Jack Smith has laid out his most detailed argument against former President Donald Trump, in its newly unsealed court filing.
As per filing, Donald Trump allegedly tried to overturn the 2020 election results and hence, is not immune from prosecution.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the case, released the 165-page document with minor redactions on Wednesday.
New Details Emerge in Criminal Case Against Trump
Additionally, the special counsel argues that Trump’s actions during the 2020 election were conducted in a personal capacity as a candidate rather than in his official capacity as president.
This distinction is crucial, as the Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that presidents are granted broad immunity for official actions while in office, but not for unofficial acts carried out as private citizens. “When the defendant lost the 2020 presidential election, he resorted to crimes to try to stay in office.” said special counsel’s team.
Further, the filing also accuses Trump of collaborating with private individuals to launch desperate schemes aimed at overturning election results in seven states where he had lost.
Although the main allegations have been public for a while, the newly unsealed filing offers additional insights, including testimonies from key witnesses and notes from former Vice President Mike Pence. A particularly revealing section details Trump’s behavior on January 6, 2021, as his supporters breached the Capitol.
Reaction Of Trump Towards Capitol Storm
According to the document, Trump spent the afternoon in the dining room adjacent to the Oval Office, scrolling through Twitter on his phone, When a staff member alerted him that Pence had been taken to a secure location due to the rioters, responding with indifference, Trump simply said, “So what?”
The filing also sheds light on Trump’s communication with his former political aide, Steve Bannon On Jan. 5, 2021. Trump had a phone conversation with Bannon, just hours before Bannon declared on his podcast that “all hell” would break loose the following day.
Meanwhile, in response to the release, Trump took to TruthSocial, accusing Democrats of “weaponizing the Justice Department” against him. He also claimed, that the release was timed to affect the upcoming election, hence, calling it “egregious prosecutorial misconduct.”
Reacting to release of special filing, he said “This should not have been released right before the Election.” Thus, insisting that the legal actions against him were politically motivated because he is “winning.”
Meanwhile, a grand jury in Washington, D.C., has indicted Trump on charges related to his actions leading up to the violent Jan. 6, 2021, capitol riot. According to prosecutors, Trump spearheaded a conspiracy to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 election, hence effectively attempting to disenfranchise millions of American voters.
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