How Trump Will Defend Himself Against New Charges

Playbook: “Trump’s main defenses against conviction don’t require a defense attorney: Stall the start of any trial, win the 2024 presidential election, and end the case with either a pliable new AG or a self-pardon.”

“But short of that rather remarkable strategy, two lines of defense have already emerged. First, Trump will argue that anything he said about fraud is protected speech under the First Amendment. The argument has already been panned by legal pundits who point out that speech — e.g. ‘Stick ‘em up and give me all your money!’— is routinely used as evidence to establish the predicate of a crime.”

“Trump may be on more solid ground with his second defense: Smith can’t prove former Trump really knew there was no election fraud. While the indictment is brimming with details about how Trump was repeatedly told by the people who were in the best position to know that the election was fairly decided, Trump will likely argue that he genuinely believed there was fraud and therefore he didn’t act ‘corruptly.’”