Special counsel Jack Smith argues that Donald Trump bears clear responsibility for the January 6 Capitol riot, countering Trump’s claims that he isn’t accountable for the violent events that transpired. In a new filing, Smith accuses Trump of “willfully” summoning his supporters to Washington, inciting them to march on the Capitol, and fostering “false hope” that Vice President Mike Pence could overturn the 2020 election results.
Smith’s team dismantles Trump’s arguments for dismissing the case, pointing to a recent Supreme Court ruling that upheld statutes prosecuting rioters for obstructing justice—directly relevant to Trump’s charges, according to Smith. Trump’s lawyers have claimed the indictment “stretches” legal boundaries by wrongly assigning Trump blame, but Smith counters that the evidence of Trump and his allies’ orchestration of “knowingly false claims of election fraud” supports the charges fully.
This filing builds on a recent 165-page document detailing Trump’s alleged “increasingly desperate” efforts to retain power by promoting fraudulent electoral certificates. Judge Tanya Chutkan has extended Trump’s deadline to respond to these mounting accusations, leaving a high-stakes legal showdown as Smith’s team moves closer to presenting its case in court.
