Donald Trump is seeking to have the election subversion charges against him dismissed from the indictment filed against him by special counsel Jack Smith in Washington. In a series of late-night dismissal motions, the former president's lawyers asserted that Smith's case "does not explain" how Trump committed the alleged crimes enumerated in the indictment. Trump has been accused of conspiring to obstruct the certification of the 2020 election, conspiring to deprive Americans of a fair election process and conspiring to defraud government officials administering the election, actions which Smith and his team of prosecutors argue subsequently led to the Capitol insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021.
In these new court filings, Trump's lawyers contend that the case criminalizes Trump's "political speech and advocacy," thereby violating his First Amendment rights. The motions also argue that Trump has been politically targeted by the Biden administration and that the connection between the indictment and the Capitol riots is not tenable because Trump has not charged with inciting the attacks, as the Washington Post notes.
