Jen Psaki took apart Donald Trump’s defense against the charges related to his attempted coup and showed the absurdity of the former president’s claims.
Psaki said:
Donald Trump was not led astray by his lawyers. He ignored them and instead, went lawyer shopping. He went out of his way to find and empower people willing to make the argument that he wanted to make, even when others pointed out how outrageous his plans were.
Finally, and perhaps, perhaps the most absurd argument, Trump was simply ignorant. He just didn’t know any better that no matter how delusional you truly believe that there was rampant fraud in the 2020 election and that he actually won. But there are more than a couple of cracks in the foundation of that one. Just this week, one of Donald Trump’s lawyers very plainly said that everyone around him knew he lost.
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Everybody knows Trump lost, and he just not knowing. There are also several documented instances where he admitted he lost. During a national security briefing after the election, he told advisers, we are going to give that to the next guy. Alyssa Farrah testified to the January 6th committee that while watching Joe Biden on TV, Trump said, quote, can you believe I lost to this guy? So, just to recap, Trump really can’t claim free speech here. He can’t claim bad lawyers. All of whom are co-conspirators anyway. And he can’t really claim ignorance because that’s not exactly believable.
So, with such a weak legal defense, watch what Trump and his allies will do now. It is a predictable and unfortunately a familiar playbook, delay, confuse, make a lot of noise. Trump’s lawyers are apparently busier running a media blitz rather than handling his defense. Just this morning, some of the defenses that were on five Sunday morning shows. Trump’s defenders are already attacking the judge and saying that it is somehow impossible for the legal system to work correctly in Washington, D.C. They will use this confusion and noise to delay the trial as long as they can because the longer it goes on, the closer he comes to trying to get back into office because the real goal for him to get elected and shutting this case down.
Video of Psaki:
Jen Psaki pokes holes in Trump’s defense, “So, just to recap, trump really can’t claim free speech here. He can’t claim bad lawyers. All of whom are coconspirators anyway. And he can’t really claim ignorance because that’s not exactly believable.” pic.twitter.com/LNyUfQgQkM
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) August 6, 2023
Trump’s defense is a political argument. It makes no legal sense at all. Constitutional law professor Rep. Jamie Raskin pointed out that Trump is claiming that he should be immune from prosecution for an offense that people go to prison for if they vote more than once.
Donald Trump doesn’t have a defense.
He can’t argue the facts, because the witnesses to his alleged crimes are Republicans.
Trump is putting the country in another absurd situation where the former president is attempting to redefine reality and assert himself as above the law.
The defense isn’t going to work in court, but Trump is really trying to win the election and make the criminal cases against him go away.