Donald Trump laid the groundwork for an attempt to overturn the 2020 election even before he lost. He knowingly promoted false claims of election fraud and tried to cling to power.
This is stated in court papers against Trump, AP News reports.
Trump's Trial
Documents filed by special counsel Jack Smith's team provide the most comprehensive picture yet of Trump's use of deception to influence every stage of the election process. The filing alleges that Trump laid the groundwork for overturning the election results before they were even over, telling advisers that if he won by a margin, he would immediately declare victory.
Now Watching
In the immediate aftermath of the election, prosecutors say, Donald Trump's advisers sought to sow chaos in the vote count. In one instance, a Trump campaign official was told that the results for Biden at a Michigan polling station appeared accurate. He allegedly responded: “Find a reason why it might not be true. Give me options on how to sue.”
Prosecutors also allege that Trump brought fraud allegations he knew were false.
The trial's prospects are uncertain, especially if Trump wins the election and a new attorney general seeks to dismiss the case. Now, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan must decide which of Trump's actions constitute official conduct for which he is immune from prosecution, and which are private crimes for which the case can proceed.
— Although the defendant was the sitting president at the time of the alleged conspiracies, his scheme was essentially private, special counsel Jack Smith's team wrote.
The filing also details conversations between Trump and then-Vice President Mike Pence in November 2020, in which Pence advised Trump to concede the election but not to give up and run again in 2024.
Trump subsequently began to question the role of Congress in the process.
— For the first time, he mentioned to Pence the possibility of challenging the election results in the House, the document filed in court says.
Prosecutors also allege that Trump used his Twitter account to spread false claims of election fraud and urge his supporters to travel to Washington on January 6, 2021. Of the more than 1,200 tweets Trump wrote during the weeks covered in the indictment, the vast majority were about the 2020 election, prosecutors say.
Trump himself has been vowing on social media that the case will end in his complete victory.
