Special Counsel Jack Smith argues that Trump can still be convicted in Jan 6 ... trends now
Special Counsel Jack Smith's team have filed another blistering filing in Donald Trump's January 6 case, accusing him of 'deceit, trickery, or dishonest means,' while arguing his own belief that he won the 2020 election isn't relevant to charges he defrauded the government.
The indictment that has Trump heading toward a March trial in federal court in Washington, DC charges that he 'made knowingly false claims that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the 2020 presidential election,' then led a conspiracy to try to overturn the results for Joe Biden.
This included 'dozens' of claims of substantial fraud, dead voters, or illegal alien voters, even while top officials in his own government were telling him there was no such large scale fraud.
The new filing calls these 'lies' and says Trump repeatedly engaged in 'deceit' as part of the conspiracy to remain in office.
A new filing by special counssel Jack Smith accuses former President Donald Trump of 'deceit' and 'lies' as part of his election overturn effort
The 79-page filing also takes on the argument put forward by Trump's lawyers that he wasn't being deceptive because he genuinely believes 'the election was stolen.'
But 'even if the defendant could supply admissible evidence of his own personal belief that the election was “rigged” or “stolen,” it would not license him to deploy fraud and deceit to remedy what he perceived to be a wrong, and it would not provide a defense to the charge,' according to Smith's filing.
Smith's team, which includes experts in white collar crime, then make a business analogy.
'Just as the president of a company may be guilty of fraud for using knowingly false statements of facts to defraud investors, even if he subjectively believes that his company will eventually succeed ... the defendant may be guilty of using deceit to obstruct the government function by which the results of the
