‘The court cannot accept Defendant’s alternate narrative’: Judge rejects Trump’s claims of selective and vindictive prosecution in Jan. 6 election subversion case

ALBERTO LUPERON
Aug 4th, 2024, 11:13 am

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U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan wrote in a 16-page memorandum opinion filed Saturday that Trump improperly reframed the allegations against him and mispresented supposed evidence, in which he asserted that the U.S. Department of Justice under President Joe Biden was going after him for political purposes.

From the opinion (citations removed):

At the outset, the court must address—as it has before—Defendant’s improper reframing of the allegations against him. … He declares that the Indictment amounts only to a Government “theory . . . that it is illegal to dispute the outcome of an election and work with others to propose alternate electors.” … That description mischaracterizes his alleged conduct. Defendant is charged with knowingly making false statements in furtherance of criminal conspiracies and for obstruction of election certification proceedings. … The Indictment does not charge Defendant for publicly disputing the election outcome and merely “working with others” to propose alternate electors.

Chutkan later wrote, “At this stage, the court cannot accept Defendant’s alternate narrative.”

A large portion of the allegations lodged against Trump in the Jan. 6 election subversion case hinge on the claim that he conspired with Justice Department attorney Jeffrey Clark to forward bogus voter fraud claims in the 2020 presidential election and weaponize the department against any who might stand in their way.

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Brandi Buchman contributed to this report.