Former President Donald Trump continues to defend the ridiculous lie that led him on the road to a second indictment – even in the official reaction of his legal team to the indictment.
The legal team’s initial written response to the House’s indictment against Trump, which was submitted to the Senate on Tuesday, focuses on debatable constitutional arguments, particularly the claim that someone who is no longer in office is not guilty by the Senate. can not be found. (Many jurists disagree.) But the response also includes defending some Trump claims that are clearly not true – including the bunkers claiming he won the election.
The old big lie
The House article of accusation accuses Trump of inciting the January 6 uprising at the Capitol. It is alleged that Trump earlier in the day gave a speech in which he “repeated false allegations that” we won this election, and we won it by a landslide. ”
The response from Trump attorneys Bruce L. Castor, Jr. and David Schoen? Yes, Trump gave a speech and exercised his first right of amendment to express his opinion – but if the House claims that his opinion ‘that the election results were suspicious’ is in fact inaccurate, Trump denies ‘this allegation’.
This is honestly ridiculous. Trump justly lost. Joe Biden was legally elected president. Trump’s opinion is factually inaccurate. The end.
Another part of the Trump team’s response rejects the House’s allegation that Trump “repeatedly issued false statements in the months before Jan. 6” in which he claimed the “election results were the result of widespread fraud.” The Trump team questions the legitimacy of changes in the state and local election procedures of the pandemic era, and then argues: ‘There is insufficient evidence on which a reasonable lawyer can conclude that the 45th president’s statements were accurate or no, and he therefore denies that it was untrue. “
This is very, very wrong. There is ample evidence that numerous specific Trump allegations about alleged fraud are false. And Trump and his allies have succeeded in proving, in court and elsewhere, his vague conspiratorial allegations that the election was ‘knee-jerk’ and ‘stolen’.
Another big lie
The Trump team’s response makes a third claim that is clearly false: “It is denied that President Trump has made any attempt to undermine the certification of the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.”
Subverting can mean overthrowing, overthrowing, undermining – and whatever definition you choose, Trump has clearly tried to do that.
We do not even have to use Trump’s long-standing behind-the-scenes effort to change the outcome of the election; he conducted much of his campaign in public. On the morning of January 6, the day of the uprising and the certification, for example, Trump tweeted that he wanted to deny then-Vice President Mike Pence to confirm the results: ‘States want to correct their votes, which they now know were based on irregularities and fraud, plus corrupt process never received legislative approval. All Mike Pence has to do is send them back to the States, AND WE WIN. Do it Mike, it’s a time for extreme courage! ‘
In his rally later that day, Trump again urged Pence to “get through to us.” When Pence did not – Pence never had the constitutional power to reject the certification of Biden’s victory – Trump criticized him in a second tweet.
Trump is unlikely to face a Senate sentence for continuing to spread his lies. Most Republicans in the 50-Republican, 50-Democratic Senate appear to be ready to vote against the conviction, and conviction requires the support of two-thirds of the senators present.
But it is telling that Trump will not even stick to the truth if it turns out that he is likely to win regardless.