WASHINGTON – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is responsible for the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol, a team of federal prosecutors led by special counsel Jack Smith said in a statement Wednesday.
In a filing responding to Trump’s attempt to dismiss the case, Smith’s team said the Trump team’s claim was not true. returned the indictment against Trump in August It does not indicate that Trump is responsible for the events of January 6.
Smith’s team said Trump “deliberately obstructed others” from confirming President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election by repeating his false claims of election fraud and giving “false hope” to supporters who believed he could unseat then-Vice President Mike Pence. . elections and “pressured” Pence and lawmakers to accept fraudulent certificates as part of a fraudulent voter scheme.
“These allegations directly link defendant’s actions on January 6th to his attempts to corruptly obstruct the certification process,” Smith’s team wrote.
“Contrary to the defendant’s claim that he bears no actual or legal responsibility for the ‘January 6th events,’ the superseding indictment expressly alleges that the defendant knowingly subpoenaed and attempted to obstruct the proceedings by subpoenaing his supporters.” Washington, D.C. and then direct them to march on the Capitol to pressure the vice president and lawmakers to reject legal certificates and instead rely on fraudulent election certificates,” Smith’s team wrote.
Previously, Trump’s lawyers argued The indictment “extends the point of violation of generally applicable laws based on false allegations that President Trump was responsible for the events that occurred at the Capitol on January 6, 2021” and “seeks to assign blame for events over which President Trump did not control and took action.” . protects against.
The indictment alleges that Trump exploited the violence and chaos in the Capitol, and Smith’s team responded in a recent filing that when Trump heard that Pence had to be taken to safety shortly after Trump attacked him on Twitter:So what?“
Attorneys for Smith and Trump continued to exchange legal documents in the case less than three weeks before Election Day, when Trump will hope to return to power after his defeat in 2020. He denied wrongdoing in this case and claimed that the indictment was politically motivated.
The final appeal comes after the Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity It destroyed part of Smith’s case against Trump. A superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury alleges that Trump knowingly spread falsehoods about the 2020 election.unsupported, objectively unreasonable, and constantly changing“In an attempt to overcome his loss and stay in power.
Smith’s team said Trump’s motion to dismiss “does not identify any defects in the impeachment indictment that warrant his dismissal” and that his motion “contains allegations that he and his associates attempted to fabricate and use evidence against him.” he completely ignores what he’s doing. election certificates as a means of obstructing the certification procedure.”
In a filing earlier this month, Smith’s team said Trump’s “committed crimes“In staying in office after losing and engaging in many of the behaviors that are central to their work, he was running as a private candidate for office, not as president.
The judge overseeing the case, Tanya Chutkan, extended the deadline for Trump’s team to appeal until after the election. A motion to impeach Trump based on his claims of presidential immunity is now due on November 7, with the government’s response due on November 21. Whether the case ultimately goes to court depends on the outcome of the election.