Trump says Jack Smith’s retooled case against him reeks of Democrats’ election interference
Former President Donald Trump is accusing special counsel Jack Smith of election interference for filing a massive legal brief against him just five weeks before Election Day.
“I didn’t rig the 2020 Election, they did!” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social.
Mr. Smith unveiled a 165-page court filing on Wednesday that alleged Mr. Trump committed election fraud before and after the 2020 election that caused the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Mr. Trump also posted a quote from Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett: “This is a case of Election interference by Jack Smith. Old information that should not have been released prior to the Election. There was no reason to release it.”
In the court filing, Mr. Smith argued that Mr. Trump was warned by campaign staff that the 2020 election would be close and that mail-in ballots would likely be tabulated after Election Day — and that those would mostly favor his opponent, Joseph R. Biden.
“Privately, the defendant told advisors … that in such a scenario, he would simply declare victory before all the ballots were counted and any winner was projected. Publicly, the defendant began to plant the seeds for that false declaration,” it said.
The new filing is Mr. Smith’s latest attempt to persuade a court that his charges against the former president meet the Supreme Court’s threshold for waiving presidential immunity from criminal prosecution.
In a 6-3 decision in July, the justices ruled that presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for official conduct and have presumed immunity for other actions but no immunity for unofficial acts.
It was a win for Mr. Trump because it postponed criminal proceedings against him until after Election Day.
Judge Tanya Chutkan, an Obama appointee, green-lighted the release of the partially redacted filing over objections from Mr. Trump’s legal team.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers said Mr. Smith’s public filing is politically motivated, as it comes just weeks before the Nov. 5 election in which Mr. Trump is the GOP presidential nominee.
Democrats have made Mr. Trump’s challenges to the 2020 election results and the pro-Trump mob’s attack on the Capitol a top campaign issue.
SEE ALSO: Special counsel contests Trump immunity, says he’s charged as an ‘office-seeker, not office-holder’
Mr. Smith said in the court records that Mr. Trump spread lies that illegitimate votes were cast in the 2020 election after his closest advisers told him he had lost.
He also alleges the former president knew he lost and reportedly told family members, “It doesn’t matter if you won or lost the election. You still have to fight like hell.”
To read the 165-page filing to the court, click here.
