The Justice Department publicly rebuked former President Donald Trump for his alleged efforts to “sanitize his conduct” in relation to the Capitol riots on Jan. 6.
What Happened: The department called on the presiding judge to reject various motions aimed at dismissing the case and relieving Trump from the fallout of the Capitol storming, The Hill reported.
The four filings, totaling over 100 pages, were in response to several pretrial motions that Trump’s team filed last month. These motions requested the dismissal of Trump’s 2020 election case on multiple grounds, citing arguments such as First Amendment rights infringement and “vindictive prosecution.”
Prosecutors vigorously defended their indictment, accusing Trump of conducting an “unprecedented campaign of deceit.”
"The defendant stands alone in American history for his alleged crimes. No other president has engaged in conspiracy and obstruction to overturn valid election results and illegitimately retain power," special counsel Jack Smith's team wrote.
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"The defendant attempts to rewrite the indictment, claiming that it charges him with wholly innocuous, perhaps even admirable conduct — sharing his opinions about election fraud and seeking election integrity — when in fact it clearly describes the defendant's fraudulent use of knowingly false statements as weapons in furtherance of his criminal plans."
Why It Matters: The former president faces charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., two counts related to obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights for actions that would deny the counting of lawfully cast votes.
The prosecution argued that Trump used “bombastic rhetoric rather than legal argument” and clarified that the incumbent president had no role in the case. They insisted that the indictment was based solely on the facts and law. "If the defendant is correct in his claim that the indictment is unprecedented, it is only because the defendant's conduct is unprecedented."
The prosecution also opposed Trump’s legal team’s attempt to remove allegations related to Jan. 6 from the indictment.
Trump has sought dismissal of the federal indictment in Washington on four occasions, facing charges linked to interference in the 2020 presidential election. The trial for the case is set to commence on March 4.
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