Potential Similar Title: Trump's Defense Strategy Unveiled: Exploring Tactics Beyond Trial Delay
Trump's defense strategy in the January 6 case goes beyond delaying the trial It includes arguments of foreign interference, involvement of special counsel investigators, highlighting political bias, and questioning the timing of the proceedings
Donald Trump's legal strategy in his federal 2020 election interference case has focused on delaying the start of his March trial until after the November presidential election. However, recent court filings and sources familiar with the Trump team's approach have revealed other defense strategies, including absolving Trump of responsibility for the US Capitol attack and positioning him as a victim of disinformation and government investigators' overzealousness. These strategies aim to paint Trump, the front-runner for the GOP nomination, in a more favorable light.
The foreign interference defense
Two recent court filings from Trump's legal team in late November provided the most clear insight yet into the potential arguments that the former president's lawyers may present to a jury in this historic case. The filings indicate that during the trial, his lawyers aim to highlight individuals within the federal government whom he suspects of being biased against him, foreign influence, and election disinformation, all of which led him to believe that the 2020 election was stolen.
Trump's legal team has already petitioned a judge to grant him access to additional government documents, including classified information from his administration. They argue that these documents would support his claim that the election results are not reliable.
In late November, his lawyers stated in court that prosecutors cannot fault President Trump for the public's lack of confidence in the 2020 election results while simultaneously withholding evidence that foreign actors contributed to the discord.
Evidence suggests that covert foreign disinformation campaigns during the 2020 election give credence to the defense's claim that President Trump and others were acting in good faith, despite some reports being later proven inaccurate. Among these actions was an attack by Russia's foreign intelligence service on the SolarWinds software in December 2020, which compromised data at multiple federal agencies. Trump's legal team argued that this attack raised legitimate concerns about the election's integrity and the potential for technical breaches of election infrastructure.
Trumps recent court filings also request access to intelligence regarding Iran and China's alleged attempts to interfere in US politics. The Justice Department has contended that introducing evidence related to potential false claims by foreign actors could potentially confuse the jury and is not pertinent to Trump's state of mind when he publicly asserted false claims of election fraud.
Trump team looks to special counsel investigators
Trumps team is seeking to uncover how other federal investigative agencies viewed his actions following the 2020 election, in an effort to emphasize that he was not charged until a special counsel was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022. Sources familiar with the strategy say that undermining the prosecution by highlighting political motivations could potentially benefit Trump in front of a jury.
The special counsels office is now asking Judge Tanya Chutkan to prevent any attempts by Trump to influence the jury, which his lawyers could try to do by injecting politics into the evidence presented. This tactic, known as nullifying, involves convincing at least one juror to vote for acquittal even if the prosecutors have proven the case against him beyond a reasonable doubt.
The prosecutors leading the case against Trump are at the core of this strategy. They were investigating false fraud allegations and fake electors schemes in 2020 and 2021 under the Justice Department and former acting DC US Attorney Michael Sherwin, who discussed the potential for sedition charges related to the Capitol attack on "60 Minutes."
Trump's legal team has requested the court to broaden the definition of the prosecution team to include other agencies, such as the US Attorney's office in DC. This would require prosecutors to provide extensive documents to Trump's defense team, potentially causing delays in the case, according to sources who spoke with CNN.
"Trump's legal team informed the court in late November that, based on public statements from USAO-DC attorneys which contradict the Special Counsel's theory of January 6, it is highly likely that there are undisclosed documents and private communications related to this issue."
Pointing to political bias against Trump
Trump's team has claimed that potential trial witnesses from the intelligence community and law enforcement may be biased against him. Despite this, several former Cabinet members, including then-Attorney General Bill Barr, then-Vice President Mike Pence, and various top intelligence officials, could be called to testify against him. Many of these individuals have publicly stated that there was no widespread fraud after the election and have criticized Trump in recent months.
Furthermore, Trump's team has acknowledged that his belief in widespread voter fraud may be brought into question during the trial. The charges against Trump suggest that the prosecution has gathered substantial evidence indicating that top advisers in both his campaign and administration informed him that he could not win the election based on the results, and that he disregarded this information to incite his supporters to violence.
Special counsel Jack Smith's office within the Justice Department is making efforts to dismiss many of the defenses before the trial, bringing them to Chutkan's attention in a recent filing. It will be Chutkan's decision to assess whether the tactics hinted at by Trump's team can be utilized during the trial and the extent to which the lawyers can present evidence and witness testimony to the jury.
The prosecutors emphasized that the Court should not allow the defendant to use the courtroom as a platform for spreading irrelevant disinformation or injecting politics into the proceedings. They also stated that evidence must be relevant to the charges in the indictment or a legitimate defense supported by sufficient evidence, and cannot be accepted solely based on a party's assertion.
At this time, Trump does not have a deadline to respond to the DOJ's filings in court, and Judge Chutkan does not have the authority to establish parameters for the trial and evidence-gathering while part of Trump's case is under appeal.
A question of timing
The trial for Trump is set for March 4 in Washington, DC's federal court, just before the Super Tuesday nominating contests. However, the date might change as Trump seeks appeals. Any delays in the appellate courts' decisions could result in significant schedule setbacks, possibly extending the trial by months.
The potential delay is expected to come from the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, which will be hearing arguments on January 9 regarding whether Trump is immune from criminal prosecution due to his role as president. The Supreme Court is also likely to be approached to address these issues before Trump's trial commences.
Trump is still appealing the gag order imposed by Chutkan in October, which was recently updated by the DC Circuit. He has claimed that the unfairness of the order should result in postponing his trial until after the election, but the courts have not been swayed by this argument.
