Prosecutors must prove Trump knew he’d lost to Biden

Prosecutors aim to take the jury inside the ex-president’s head to secure his conviction.

Donald Trump on his way to court in Washington on Thursday. Picture: AFP

What truly happens in the mind of Donald Trump? Prosecutors aim to take the jury inside the ex-president’s head to secure his conviction.

At the core of the case against him is that he knew he had lost the election but deceived aides and supporters into believing he was the rightful winner.

Mr Trump’s defence team plans to argue that his allegations of fraud were protected by the free speech clause of the US constitution and his actions to challenge the results were fuelled by a genuine belief he had been swindled.

The indictment lists numerous examples of advisers and officials telling Mr Trump he had lost and that his allegations of fraud were fantasy. His defence team will show that many other aides and confidants were telling him he was the winner and had been cheated by fraudulent counts.

Prosecutors can point to distinguished witnesses such as Bill Barr, Mr Trump’s attorney-general, who told CNN this week: “At first I wasn’t sure, but I have come to believe he (Mr Trump) knew well he had lost the election.”

The indictment recounts a call on New Year’s Day 2021 with Mike Pence, Mr Trump’s vice-president, who told him there was no constitutional basis to reject the election results in certain states, as he had wanted. “You’re too honest,” Mr Trump told him, three words that could help sink the former president.

A sincere belief he was justified in his actions is not a legal defence, but this could be key to establishing Mr Trump’s criminal intent and convincing a jury.

The Times