Trump Attempts To Separate Himself From Jan. 6 Rioters

Donald Trump’s legal team has requested the judge to toss out his prosecution related to his federal election interference case, arguing that it violates his free speech while also attempting to separate Trump from the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

Trump’s attorney filed a few last-minute motions minutes before the midnight deadline, reiterating statements from the campaign trial arguing that he merely questioned the 2020 elections and should not be held responsible for the storming of the building.

“Because the Government has not charged President Trump with responsibility for the actions at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, allegations related to these actions are not relevant and are prejudicial and inflammatory. Therefore, the Court should strike these allegations from the Indictment,” his attorney wrote in a motion.

Special Counsel Jack Smith recognized that Trump could lawfully challenge his loss in his four-count Indictment. Smith said his office believed that Trump illegally blocked the transfer of power by using false claims and illegally blocking the official congressional count of electoral votes.

The motion claimed that Trump’s First Amendment rights were restricted.

“The fact that the indictment alleges that the speech at issue was supposedly, according to the prosecution, ‘false’ makes no difference,” said the defense. “Under the First Amendment, each individual American participating in a free marketplace of ideas — not the Federal Government — decides for him or herself what is true and false on great disputed social and political questions.”

Trump’s legal team also argued that he cannot be prosecuted due to Trump being found not guilty by the Senate in his impeachment trial.

Article by Astrid Valdez