Donald Trump on Sunday said it was “my decision” to believe the 2020 presidential election was “rigged” – saying he disrespected the aides and lawyers who told him he lost.
The former president, 77, was asked by NBC’s Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press” why he chose to ignore his “top lawyers” and campaign staff about the election results.
“Because I don’t respect them,” Trump replied.
Welker then asked the Republican front-runner in the presidential race if he “called … finally?”
“Whether I believe it is rigged or not? Oh, sure,” Trump replied. “It was my decision. But I heard some people.”
Trump currently faces four criminal cases – two involving his attempt to overturn his 2020 loss to President Biden. He continued to insist that the election was “rigged”.
Last month, Trump’s lawyer John Lauro publicly emphasized that his client’s actions to disrupt the election results were done under the advice of a lawyer.
“Everything President Trump does is on the advice of lawyers and attorneys,” Lauro told NBC. “That is an absolute defense to a criminal case.”
“This is a protocol you can follow – it’s legal.”
Donald Trump is facing four different allegations.MSNBC
Lauro cited several defenses to the criminal charges — including free speech — but he also blamed Trump’s lawyers.
Trump’s remarks on Sunday came back and forth after he was asked if he “listened to the advice of your lawyers, or did you listen to your own instincts.”
“I heard different people. And when I add it all up, the election was rigged,” Trump responded earlier in the exchange.
The former president gives a speech at the White House Ellipse on January 6, 2021 shortly before riots erupted.REUTERS
Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team has sought to undercut Trump’s First Amendment arguments in court filings by acknowledging alleged procedural violations.
“[Trump] have the right, like every American, to speak publicly about the election and also to claim, falsely, that no fraud determined the outcome,” the indictment said.
But the indictment argues that Trump “pursued illegal means to reject valid votes and subvert the election results.”
Trump is charged with federal charges of conspiracy to defraud the US, conspiracy to obstruct official proceedings, obstructing and attempting to obstruct official proceedings, and conspiracy against rights.
He also faces state charges outside of Georgia also accusing him of illegally conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 state election.
Trump just threw the whole “on the advice of my lawyer” defense under the bus.
No, let me correct that:
— not just under a bus but under a roaring, fast, big freight train. . . .
?? ? ? https://t.co/FmHKgz6qIr
— Laurence Tribe ?? ⚖️ (@tribelaw) September 17, 2023
In the federal election results case, the allegations focused on a pressure campaign against then-Vice President Mike Pence to certify the election.
Prosecutors have also focused on an alternate list of voters drawn up by Trump allies to reverse his defeat.
At one point during the NBC interview, lead Kristen Welker grilled Trump about why he listened to some of his lawyers, including one he admitted had a crazy theory.
“You know who I listen to? myself. I saw what happened,” Trump explained.
“My instincts are a big part of it. That’s what got me to where I am, my instincts. But I also listen to people,” he added later.
Legal experts who have publicly criticized Trump slammed the wide-ranging interview segment.
“Trump just threw the whole ‘on my lawyer’s advice’ defense under the bus. No, let me correct that: — not just under a bus but under a roaring, fast, big freight train. . . .,” Harvard University professor emeritus Laurence Tribe posted on X, formerly Twitter.
“And this is where Trump loses his defense because he relies on his lawyers,” said the lawyer and former Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.).
“There is a defense of ‘advice of counsel’. Seriously, if your defense to this charge is ‘@MZHemingway wrote the book’ you know you’re going to lose at trial,” said national security attorney Bradley Moss.
Also in the interview, Trump confirmed that he would be willing to testify in the separate 40-count Mar-a-Lago documents case pending against him.
Smith, who is leading both the 2020 federal election and the Mar-a-Lago case, is known to use Trump’s public comments.
Jack Smith has also indicted about half a dozen others in election interference cases. James Keivom
Donald Trump has vehemently denied wrongdoing across the board. Reuters
In August, for example, Smith cited Trump’s post on Truth Social where he said “IF YOU TAKE ME OUT, I’LL TAKE YOU OUT.” Smith used the post to challenge the protective order, which prohibits Trump from sharing certain materials in the election case.
Last Friday, Smith stepped up his claims in a court filing and sought a narrowly tailored gag order to impose limits on what Trump can say in the election meddling case.
Trump, who remains the far and away 2024 GOP frontrunner, has denounced the 91 charges against him as a “witch hunt” and election meddling.
The former president is running against President Biden in many polls.MSNBC
He has denied wrongdoing across the board, and appears to bristle at pressure to shut down his public comments on criminal cases.
Trump’s lawyer did not immediately comment on his NBC interview.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
