Source: The Hill
by Dana M Radcliffe
“Count one of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Aug. 1 indictment of Donald Trump alleges that he used ‘knowingly false’ claims of election fraud in a conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. To help prove Trump’s guilt, prosecutors will seek to demonstrate that Trump knew his fraud claims were false. There are strong reasons to think Smith and his team will succeed. … If Trump’s attorneys argue (as they have suggested they will) that Trump did not know his claims of election fraud were false because he sincerely believed them, they will face difficult challenges. Given expected testimony that Trump had conceded to some staff that he lost, dozens of failed lawsuits, the vast informational resources available to a president, the fact that reliable sources told Trump there was no significant fraud and Trump’s habit of lying, it cannot simply be assumed that Trump believed his fraud claims.” (09/12/23)