Former U.S. President and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends a campaign rally in Sioux City, Iowa, U.S. October 29, 2023.
Scott Morgan | Reuters
Donald Trump “stands alone in American history for his alleged crimes” related to trying to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential election, special counsel Jack Smith’s office said in a court filing Monday.
“No other president has engaged in conspiracy and obstruction to overturn valid election results and illegitimately retain power,” Smith’s office said in the filing.
In it, Smith formally opposed bids by Trump’s lawyers to dismiss his four-count federal election interference indictment in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
Smith’s prosecutors said in the filing that Trump’s motions asking Judge Tanya Chutkan to toss the indictment cites past court cases that actually “undermine his arguments rather than support them,” and “rely on distortions and misrepresentation.”
“The defendant also claims that he could not have known his actions were criminal because, in the past, others who have questioned, challenged, or protested election results were not prosecuted,” the special counsel wrote.
“But the defendant stands alone in American history for his alleged crimes.”
In a separate filing Monday, Smith’s office opposed Trump’s motion seeking to strike so-called inflammatory allegations related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot by a mob of his supporters from his indictment.
The riot occurred after weeks of false claims by Trump that President Joe Biden had won the 2020 election as a result of widespread ballot fraud.
The other filing alleged that Trump “has promoted and extolled the events of that day. While the violent attack was ongoing, the defendant told rioters that they were ‘very special’ and that ‘we love you.’ “
“In the years since, he has championed rioters as ‘great patriots; and proclaimed January 6 ‘a beautiful day,” the filing said.
“The Court should recognize the defendant’s motion for what it is: a meritless effort to evade the indictment’s clear allegations that the defendant is responsible for the events at the Capitol on January 6,” prosecutors wrote.
Trump, who is the leading contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has pleaded not guilty in the case, which is set to go to trial in late March.
