5 key takeaways from the special counsel’s bombshell filing into Trump’s alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election

Special counsel Jack Smith’s explosive court filing unsealed Wednesday lays out the bulk of the evidence in the government’s case against Donald Trump for his alleged attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election, as the federal judge overseeing the case determines whether the former President has done this A criminal charge can survive the Supreme Court’s test of presidential immunity.

A year after Trump pleaded not guilty to charges that he engaged in a “criminal scheme” to overturn the election results to remain in power, Smith filed a scaled-down indictment in August detailing the allegations The Supreme Court ruled that Trump is entitled to immunity from prosecution for official acts he committed while in office.

Last week, Smith filed a sealed pleading justifying the superseding indictment. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the case, allowed Smith to submit a redacted version for publication.

Responding to the filing, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement: “This entire case is a partisan, unconstitutional witch hunt that should be dismissed outright.”

Here are five key takeaways from the 165-page filing.

Trump reportedly planned to declare victory from the start

Despite learning that the results of the 2020 election were unlikely to be finalized on election night, Trump planned to declare victory anyway and “cause confusion,” prosecutors allege.

“Although his numerous conspiracies began after Election Day in 2020, the defendant laid the foundation for his crimes long before then,” the filing states.

Prosecutors said Trump and his allies tried to exploit the confusion, which the former president was later able to use as a basis for claiming voter fraud had occurred.

In one alleged case cited in the filing, a campaign employee intentionally attempted to “cause chaos at a polling station” where votes were still being recorded.

“When the colleague suggested that there would soon be riots reminiscent of the Brooks Brothers Riot, a violent attempt to stop vote counting in Florida after the 2000 presidential election, (the campaign official responded): “Make it a riot.” and “Do it!” it!,” the filing states.

Trump Reportedly Called Claims of Voter Fraud “Crazy”

According to prosecutors, Trump privately remarked that claims of election fraud by a co-conspirator – identified by ABC News as Sidney Powell – were “crazy,” even though he adopted and amplified the same allegations as he pushed to overturn the election results.

Trump’s remark followed a press conference in November 2020 when Powell and Rudy Giuliani – lawyers who led Trump’s election lawsuits – spread baseless conspiracy theories to prove that Trump had won the election “overwhelmingly,” including by claiming that voting software was on Trump’s instruction was developed by late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

Prosecutors say a witness is prepared to testify that Trump mocked Powell for the comments, calling her “crazy,” even as he “adopted and amplified” the same allegations.

Mike Pence remains at the center of the case

Smith says in the filing that he is willing to use former Vice President Mike Pence’s handwritten notes about his meetings with Trump, as well as Pence’s deposition and account of events later captured in his book, to highlight how Trump put pressure on his deputy. Order to undermine the election against the advice of Trump’s closest advisers.

“If there is fraud, the rules will be changed,” Trump reportedly said during a Jan. 4 meeting in which he encouraged Pence to reject the results, according to Pence’s five pages of handwritten notes from the meeting.

As Trump sought to legally challenge the election results in states he lost, Pence reportedly said he tried to encourage the former president to accept defeat and move on to the next election.

“You breathed new life into a dying political party,” Pence told Trump on the day Joe Biden was expected to win the election, the filing said. On another occasion, Pence told Trump: “Don’t admit, just acknowledge that the trial is over,” the filing says.

According to the filing, Trump remained skeptical of the idea of ​​a concession and instead favored lawsuits to challenge the election results.

“I don’t know, 2024 is so far away,” Trump said in mid-November after Pence encouraged him to accept the results and think about the 2024 election, the filing said.

Smith goes into detail about Trump’s alleged involvement in the January 6 attack

Prosecutors presented evidence that when Pence ultimately rejected Trump’s request to reject the votes during the certification process on January 6, Pence allegedly decided – despite his advisers’ pleas – to allow the speech he would give at Eclipse change to target Pence and falsely claim that Pence had the authority to send the results back to individual states.

“For more than an hour, the defendant gave a speech intended to incite his supporters and motivate them to march on the Capitol,” the filing states. “The defendant gave his followers false hope that Pence would take action to change the election results, claiming that Pence had the authority to do so.”

The file provides a powerful description of the violence that erupted at the U.S. Capitol. Prosecutors called it “the powder keg that (Trump) intentionally ignited on January 6.” Post through a megaphone to disrupt the certification process.

As the violent mob stormed the building and Pence was evacuated to a safe location, prosecutors allege Trump idly watched the scene on television and scrolled on Twitter. Evidence obtained from Trump’s phone showed that the social media application was open and active on his phone for most of the afternoon, the filing said.

“He spent the afternoon there reviewing Twitter on his cell phone while Fox News’ simultaneous coverage of the events at the Capitol played on the dining room television,” the filing says.

One of Trump’s aides – identified by ABC News as Nick Luna – once burst into the room where Trump was sitting to tell him that Pence had been safely taken to a secure location during the insurrection.

“So what?” Trump responded, prosecutors allege.

The filing states that in the years after Jan. 6, the defendant “affirmed his support and loyalty to the rioters who broke into the Capitol, referred to them as ‘patriots’ and ‘hostages,’ provided them with financial support.” and remembered January 6th as ‘a beautiful day’.”

Prosecutors are trying to uphold presidential immunity

While the case still relies in part on testimony from Trump’s White House advisers – which could potentially be protected by presidential immunity – prosecutors argue in the filing that the allegations outlined in the indictment relate to the advisers’ work as private Campaign employees and volunteers instead of government officials.

“In summary, just as the president can sometimes act ‘in an unofficial capacity’ – including as a ‘candidate for office or party leader’ – so too can the executive branch staff around him. Simply because an employee has a title.” “If someone serves in the executive branch and interacts with the president, that does not mean that the interaction is necessarily official,” the filing says.

Prosecutors say Trump’s communications with Pence should not be protected by immunity because the conversations involved the certification process, which is outside the purview of the executive branch.

“Because the executive branch plays no role in the certification process — and, in fact, the President was intentionally excluded from it — the prosecution of the defendant for his corrupt efforts with respect to Pence does not pose a threat to the authority or functioning of the executive branch,” the filing says .

Prosecutors also urged Judge Chutkan to admit Trump’s tweets into evidence because the social media posts provide the “necessary context” for his behavior and not all of those posts relate to official actions.

“Just because a tweet relates to a matter of public interest does not automatically make it an official communication,” the lawsuit says.