Ever since Donald Trump began claiming that he was the victim of "a major fraud" in the 2020 presidential election—which he started doing on Election Day, while votes were still being tallied—his sincerity has been open to debate. Did he really believe the nonsense he was spouting, or was it all part of a clever populist strategy? That question is of keen interest to political junkies and armchair psychologists. It is also central to Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation of whether Trump committed federal crimes by trying to overturn Joe Biden's victory.
Based on information from "four people briefed on the matter," The New York Times reports that the Washington, D.C., grand jury convened as part of Smith's investigation recently heard testimony about whether Trump "privately acknowledged in the days after the 2020 election that he had lost." One of the witnesses was Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who reportedly said "it was his impression that Mr. Trump truly believed the election was stolen."
