Donald Trump signaled his false claims about the 2020 presidential election being rigged against him will feature prominently in any criminal trial over his attempts to overturn the outcome of the vote.
“We’ll have fun on the stand with all of these people that say the Presidential Election wasn’t Rigged and Stollen. THE TRIAL OF THE CENTURY!!!,” the former president said Wednesday in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Trump followed that post with a number of other all-capital-letter exclamations: “2024 ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!” “PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT!!!” “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
Trump, who is seeking a return to the White House in 2024, last week said he had been notified that he is a target in the Justice Department’s probe into efforts to overturn the election results, signaling that federal charges are likely. That would add to the existing federal case against Trump over his handling of classified documents after leaving office.
Trump has embraced a wide range of unproven and debunked conspiracy theories about the 2020 election — many of which were dismissed at the time even by Trump-appointed judges and then-US Attorney General Bill Barr. He has continued to insist that he was the rightful winner. He has a wide lead over his Republican rivals for the party’s nomination despite the specter of multiple criminal trials in an election year.
The post on Truth Social suggests Trump will use his claims as a defense in court to argue he did nothing wrong in trying to remain in office. But former federal prosecutor Barbara McQuade said such a defense will “come to a screeching halt in a court” because there is no evidence.
“Trump may try to claim he genuinely believed the election had been stolen as a defense to rebut proof of his intent to defraud, but even there, the evidence that he did know he lost is overwhelming,” McQuade said.
The letter Trump received from Special Counsel Jack Smith — who is investigating the former president’s actions after the election, including the insurrection at the Capitol — stated Trump is a target of the grand jury investigating election-related actions. That indicates prosecutors have zeroed in on his actions and have substantial evidence of crimes.
Alina Habba, a legal representative for Trump, didn’t respond to a message seeking comment.
(Updates with comment from outside expert)
