Special counsel outlines bid to show Trump motive, knowledge of plan to stay in power
by Rebecca Beitsch - 12/05/23 1:52 PM ET
Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team outlined the evidence it has collected against former President Trump on Tuesday, walking through information it says will showcase his motive and knowledge of a plan to block the transfer of power.
The breakdown comes in a request to introduce evidence of events both before and after the conspiracy outlined in Trump’s indictment, an effort to “establish his motive, intent, preparation, knowledge” and plans related to his efforts to stay in power.
The 9-page filing shows prosecutors plan to showcase an array of Trump comments dating as far back as 2012, when he sought to cast into doubt the legitimacy of elections whose results he did not favor.
That includes the multiple instances when Trump refused to commit to accept the results of either the 2016 or 2020 election.
Prosecutors also plan to show evidence gathered about other Trump associates, including the encouraging of riots at a Detroit vote-counting center and the targeting of a Republican National Committee attorney who countered Trump’s claims of fraud.
“The Campaign Employee encouraged rioting and other methods of obstruction when he learned that the vote count was trending in favor of the defendant’s opponent,” the filing says of a campaign employee who sought to mobilize riots at the TCF Center after President Biden took the lead in vote counts.
more
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4343155-special-counsel-trump-2020-election-case-motive/
