Federal prosecutors argued that former President Donald Trump "resorted to crimes" to stay in power after losing the 2020 elections, according to a newly unsealed court filing. The filing was submitted by special counsel Jack Smith's team in the context of the Supreme Court opinion that determined the former president had broad immunity during his time in office and limited the scope of the prosecution for his actions aimed at overturning the result of the elections.
The Supreme Court ruled in July that an ex-president has broad immunity from prosecution for official acts conducted while in office, but can be pursued for unofficial acts.
In its ruling, the high court left it to Chutkan, an appointee of former Democratic president Barack Obama, to determine what specific presidential actions might not enjoy immunity.
Smith said he would demonstrate that some of Trump's acts after the 2020 election were not part of his official functions and aimed to "distinguish his private electioneering activity from official action, and rebut the presumption of immunity."
The actions include convincing then-Vice President Mike Pence to refuse to certify the counting of electoral votes on January 6, 2021, something Pence refused to do and was a key event in the attempt by Trump supporters to assault the Capitol and overturn the result of the elections.
"Although the defendant was the incumbent President during the charged conspiracies, his scheme was fundamentally a private one," reads a passage of the filing. "Working with a team of private co-conspirators, the defendant acted as a candidate when he pursued multiple criminal means to disrupt, through fraud and deceit, the government function by which votes are collected and counted — a function in which the defendant, as President, had no official role."
The filing includes interactions between Trump and Pence after the elections, including one where the latter urged the former to accept the results and run again in 2024. "I don't know, 2024 is so far off," Trump said before choosing an alternative course of action.
Trump is accused of conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding -- the January 6, 2021 joint session of Congress that was violently attacked by Trump supporters. His "steady stream of disinformation" reached a climax on January 6, where he further lied to "inflame and motivate the large and angry crowd of his supporters to march to the Capitol and disrupt the certification proceeding," they argued.
This is a story in development and will be updated
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
