Federal prosecutors unveiled plans on Tuesday to introduce evidence at Donald Trump’s trial for conspiring to overturn the 2020 election that shows he was determined to “remain in power at any cost.” Special counsel Jack Smith’s office, in a court filing, said the former US president had a history of “sowing mistrust” in election results and had repeatedly refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power if he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
“The Government will offer proof of this refusal as intrinsic evidence of the defendant’s criminal conspiracies because it shows his plan to remain in power at any cost — even in the face of potential violence,” prosecutors said.
Trump was indicted in August for seeking to upend the results of the November 2020 election won by Biden in a concerted effort that led to the violent January 6, 2021 attack by his supporters on the US Capitol. The twice-impeached former president is also accused of seeking to disenfranchise American voters with his repeated false claims he won the election. Judge Tanya Chutkan has set March 4, 2024 for the start of the trial, which could interfere with Trump’s campaign to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Prosecutors, in the court filing, outlined some of the strategy and evidence they plan to use at the unprecedented criminal trial of a former president. “The Government will introduce a number of public statements by the defendant… claiming that there would be fraud in the 2020 presidential election,” they said. “These statements sowed mistrust in the results of the presidential election and laid the foundation for the defendant’s criminal efforts.” The remarks included a November 2012 tweet in which Trump made “baseless claims” that voting machines had switched votes from Republican nominee Mitt Romney to Democratic president Barack Obama. During his 2016 presidential campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton, Trump also “claimed repeatedly, with no basis, that there was widespread voter fraud,” prosecutors said. The false claims illustrate Trump’s “motive, intent, and plan to obstruct the certification of the 2020 election results and illegitimately retain power.”
– ‘Embrace’ of January 6 rioters –
Prosecutors also more closely tied Trump to the events of January 6, when his supporters stormed Congress in a bid to block Biden’s election victory. “The defendant has openly and proudly supported individuals who criminally participated in obstructing the congressional certification that day, including by suggesting that he will pardon them if re-elected,” they said.
Trump’s lawyers have repeatedly sought to delay the trial until after the November 2024 election including with a claim that Trump enjoys “absolute immunity” and cannot be prosecuted for actions he took while in the White House. Judge Chutkan rejected the immunity claim last week. “Whatever immunities a sitting President may enjoy, the United States has only one Chief Executive at a time, and that position does not confer a lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass,” she said.
Trump and his sons Eric and Don Jr are currently facing a civil fraud trial in New York, accused of inflating the value of their real estate assets to receive more favorable bank loans and insurance terms. Trump also faces federal charges for alleged mishandling of classified documents after he left office and has been charged with racketeering in Georgia for trying to overturn the 2020 election results in the southern state.
– Chris Lefkow
