A federal judge on Wednesday unsealed key filings from special counsel Jack Smith's latest election interference case against former President Donald Trump.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan of the District of Columbia released Smith's 165-page filing in which she also found Trump immune from prosecution for allegedly plotting to overturn the 2020 election results. He claimed that there was no. Smith filed the document after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that presidents are immune from prosecution for acts of official conduct.
“Although the defendant was a sitting president during the time of the alleged conspiracy, his plans were essentially private,” Smith wrote. “Defendant, in conjunction with a team of private co-conspirators, acted as a candidate in pursuing multiple criminal measures to disrupt the government's ability to collect and count votes by fraud and deception. had no formal role.”
The Supreme Court's decision in Trump v. United States rules that Smith cannot prosecute Trump over the president's use of the Justice Department to investigate unproven claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. was lowered. In response, Mr. Smith filed an updated indictment that revised the allegations against Mr. Trump to fall within the scope of the Supreme Court's decision.
Judge unseals key filings in special counsel's election case against Trump
Special Counsel Jack Smith speaks about the recently unsealed indictment containing four felonies against former President Donald Trump at the Department of Justice on August 1, 2023 in Washington, DC. Trump was charged with four felonies for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 legislation. election. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
In an unsealed filing, Smith told the court that Trump is not immune from the remaining charges against him, and why Trump “should be tried for personal crimes.” He explained his own argument.
Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges brought against Mr. Smith.
Here are five key details, partially redacted, from the special counsel's new filing.
1. Smith's “Fact Provider”
In a filing released Wednesday, Smith is a “providor of facts” who claims Trump “committed crime in an effort to remain in office” after losing the 2020 presidential election. ” was outlined.
“Defendants, along with private co-conspirators, engaged in increasingly desperate schemes to overturn the legitimate election results they had lost in seven states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. We launched one after the other,” Smith wrote.
“His efforts included lying to state officials to ignore the true vote count, fabricating fraudulent electoral votes in targeted states, and as Senate President Michael R. These include attempting to disrupt Congress by enlisting Vice President Pence to use the defendant's fraudulent electoral votes to certify the election on January 6, 2021, when all else failed. on Sunday, leading a mob of angry supporters to the U.S. Capitol to disrupt Congressional certification.
Prosecutors request indefinite postponement of trial of Trump assassination suspect Ryan Routh
“The consistency of these efforts was a deception,” Smith said, arguing that Trump and his co-conspirators were subverting the federal government's ability to collect and tabulate election results, as provided by the Constitution and election law. Alleges that he was involved in a conspiracy to interfere. Counting Act (ECA); a conspiracy to obstruct the official process by which Congress certifies the legitimate results of a presidential election. and a conspiracy against the right of millions of Americans to vote and have their votes counted. ”
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks to participants during a campaign rally at the Prairie du Chien Regional Arts Center on September 28, 2024 in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
2. Smith claims that Trump's personal lawyer told him that claims of election fraud are “bullish.”
Smith claims that multiple people close to Trump told the former president that he was “strong” about his claims of election fraud.
Smith said that in one conversation, an anonymous Trump lawyer told Trump that the campaign was investigating his claims of fraud and had hired outside experts to do so. “I couldn't find anything to support it,” he said.
“He told the defendant that if the campaign brought these allegations to court, they would be dismissed because all of the claims were 'bullshit,'” the filing states, adding that Smith's attorney claims to have talked with Trump about investigating and “debunking mistakes.” On all major claims. ”
For example, lawyers reportedly told President Trump that a Georgia audit disproved claims that votes were tampered with.
President Trump accuses Justice Department of 'election interference', calls Jack Smith case 'fraud' after judge unseals key filings
This photo from January 6, 2021 shows supporters of President Donald Trump crowding the Capitol as Congress prepares to certify President-elect Joe Biden's victory. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Smith also said a senior campaign adviser who spoke with Trump “on a daily basis” and “told him numerous times that various claims of fraud were false” because his lawyers were unable to substantiate the false claims. It alleges that Mr. Trump was complaining that he was losing an election lawsuit. About elections.
“If our investigative and campaign legal team is unable to substantiate any of the claims made by our elite strike force legal team, you will understand why our case is 0-32,” the campaign adviser reportedly wrote. There is.
“I'm willing to cooperate fully in every way, but it's hard to own this when it's all just a conspiracy beamed down from the mothership.”
3. New details about President Trump's interactions with Vice President Mike Pence
The filing details several communications allegedly between President Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence in the days after the election.
Smith details a Nov. 7, 2020 phone call between Pence and Trump in which Pence reminded him that he had “embraced a dying party and breathed new life into it.” , is said to have “tried to encourage Trump as a friend.”
Smith also detailed a private lunch between Trump and Pence on November 12, 2020, in which Pence allegedly gave Trump a “face-saving option.” The option was to “make no concessions but recognize that the process is over,” according to the filing.
During another private lunch between Trump and Pence on November 16, 2020, Pence reportedly urged Trump to accept the election results and run again in 2024. “I don't know, 2024 is very far away,” Trump said.
Trump trial stemming from Jack Smith investigation postponed past Election Day
On February 26, 2020, then-President Trump (left) watches a press conference with Vice President Mike Pence in the Brady Press Conference Room at the White House in Washington, DC. (Tassos Katopodis/Getty Images)
During another private lunch on Dec. 21, Pence reportedly “encouraged” Trump, “Don't look at the election as a 'loss.' It's just a break.” Later that day, Trump reportedly asked Pence for advice in the Oval Office. He should. Smith said Pence said, “After exhausting all legal processes in the courts and Congress, if it's not enough, then Trump should 'keep his head down.'”
Additionally, Smith said that during the Jan. 6, 2023, riot at the U.S. Capitol, it became clear that Pence would not support his efforts to block the certification of the election, and that Trump revealed that he allegedly had little regard for Pence's safety.
Smith said that an unnamed Trump aide “received the call that Mr. Pence had been taken to a secure location, and the defendant (Trump) responded in the hope that the defendant would take action to ensure Pence's safety.” “I rushed to the dining room to notify him.” . ”
Smith wrote that after the aide broke the news, Trump “just looked at him and said, 'So what?'”
4. White House staffer allegedly heard President Trump say, “It doesn't matter whether you win or lose.''
Smith has repeatedly and completely ignored those who told Trump that his claims of voter fraud were false, including Republican election officials in states where Trump was claiming the election was stolen. claims to have done so.
“For example, election officials issued press releases and other public statements to combat the disinformation spread by defendants and their supporters,” Smith wrote. “At some point, long after defendant began spreading false fraud claims, a White House official traveling with defendant (redacted) stated that defendant told his family, “It doesn't matter whether you win or lose the election. It doesn't matter if we win or lose the election yet.'' We have to fight like hell.'' ”
Smith went on to claim that Trump and his legal team “repeatedly changed the baseless fraud allegations on a daily basis” and even “completely fabricated the numbers.”
President Trump indicted for second time in election subversion case brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith
In this January 6, 2021 photo, demonstrators loyal to then-President Trump storm the Capitol in Washington, DC. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
The special counsel alleges that Trump “knew within a week of the election that there was no evidence of widespread election fraud in Arizona,” and that Trump “knew that there was no evidence of widespread election fraud in Georgia.” “I realized early on that the allegations were false.''
By the time Trump spoke at a January 6 rally after Pence refused to halt the certification of the election, the former president said his “last hope” to overturn the results was “with the angry crowd standing before us.” “I knew it was a very crowded crowd,” Smith said. About him. ”
“There, the defendant gave a speech for more than an hour designed to incite his supporters and encourage them to march on the Capitol.For months, the defendant gave a speech that was designed to incite his supporters and encourage them to march on the Capitol. He told the crowd many of the same lies he had told, including officials in the targeted states, that he knew were not true.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
5. Mr. Smith Files Lawsuit Against Presidential Immunity
Smith said that based on a “fact-based analysis” of Trump's conduct, the court found that the former president was not acting in an official capacity when he challenged the election results and therefore is not immune from prosecution. He argued that it should be determined that
“No allegations or evidence are protected by presidential immunity,” Smith wrote, arguing that Trump's “plan was private.”
“He operated in his private capacity as a candidate, making extensive use of private citizens and campaign infrastructure in an effort to overturn the election results,” Smith alleged. “However, to the limited extent that the superseding indictment and the evidence presented reflect official conduct, the government can rebut the presumption of immunity, because reliance on that conduct in this prosecution is This is because it does not pose a danger of intruding on the powers or functions of the executive branch. ”
Brooke Singman of Fox News Digital and Jake Gibson of Fox News contributed to this report.
