Donald Trump’s defence strategy and how his legal team could challenge the January 6 charges
Donald Trump – who is seeking re-election in 2024 – has been charged with plotting to overturn his 2020 election defeat to US President Joe Biden.
How will Mr Trump counter the accusations – and what can we expect as the case moves forward?
The charges
Mr Trump faces three charges of conspiracy – one to defraud the United States, another to obstruct the January 6th certification of an official government proceeding and a third against the peoples’ right to vote and have that vote counted. A fourth charge relates to the obstruction of an official proceeding.
The 77-year-old denies any wrongdoing.
His campaign has called the latest allegations over the Washington DC insurrection – the third time in four months he has been criminally charged – “nothing more than the latest chapter” in what it described as a politically motivated “witch hunt”.
Prosecutors say Mr Trump pushed unproven fraud claims he knew were untrue, pressured state and federal officials – including Vice President Mike Pence – to alter the results and finally incited the Capitol assault in a bid to undermine US democracy and cling to power.
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‘Trump’s lies fuelled Capitol riot’
What will be Trump’s first line of defence?
Mr Trump’s legal team is characterising his 45-page indictment in the special counsel’s 2020 election interference investigation as an attack on the former president’s right to free speech.
His lawyers plan to argue he had a right under the First Amendment of the US Constitution to overturn the result.
Hours after the charges were revealed, Mr Trump’s attorney John Lauro accused the Justice Department of having “criminalised” the First Amendment – and asserted his client had relied on the advice of attorneys around him in 2020.
“What President Trump had was an actual opinion of counsel that his request to Vice President Pence was completely lawful and completely constitutional,” he told NBC’s Today Show.
“You’re entitled to believe and trust advice of counsel,” he said.
“You had one of the leading constitutional scholars in the US, John Eastman, say to President Trump, ‘This is a protocol that you can follow, it’s legal’.”
“That eliminates criminal intent,” Mr Lauro said, adding everything Mr Trump did “was to get at the truth”.
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The key question in latest Trump case
What does the First Amendment protect?
The First Amendment does indeed give wide berth for all manner of speech, and it’s well established that lying to the public isn’t itself a crime.
Special counsel Jack Smith and his team appear to have anticipated the First Amendment line of defence, conceding head-on in their indictment Mr Trump had the right to falsely claim that fraud had cost him the election and to legally challenge the results.
But they also said his conduct and that of his “co-conspirators” he’s alleged to have plotted with – who have not been named as they have not been charged with any crimes – went far beyond speech.
What do the experts say?
Experts say there’s little legal merit to the First Amendment claims, particularly given the breadth of steps taken by the ex-president and his allies which prosecutors say transformed mere speech into action in a failed bid to undo the election.
Those efforts, the indictment says, amounted to a disruption of a “bedrock function of the United States federal government: the nation’s process of collecting, counting, and certifying the results of the presidential election”.
“Saying a statement in isolation is one thing. But when you say it to another person and the two of you speak in a way and exchange information in a way that leads to action – that you want to take action to do something with that speech – then arguably it becomes unprotected,” said Mary Anne Franks, a law professor at George Washington University.
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Is Trump going to jail?
‘Trump believed his lies’
Mr Trump’s legal team has also suggested his defence may at least partly focus on the idea that he was acting in good faith because he genuinely believed his bogus election fraud claims.
But the indictment is careful to show how Mr Trump was repeatedly warned by people close to him that there was no truth to his claims.
Some of the comments detailed in the indictment suggest Mr Trump knew he had lost and that his actions were wrong.
Days before the riot he told Mr Pence he was “too honest” after the vice president said he didn’t have the authority to reject electoral votes, the indictment says.
“I can imagine that prosecutors will use that line over and over and over in the trial, in their opening statement and closing argument, to show that he really didn’t believe the things he was saying,” said Brandon Fox, a former federal prosecutor who now works as a defence attorney.
Mr Pence has spoken extensively about Mr Trump urging him to reject President Biden’s election victory in the days leading up to the deadly attack.
“President Trump is wrong. I had no right to overturn the election,” Mr Pence, who has often shied away from confronting his former boss, said in March.
“And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know history will hold Donald Trump accountable.”
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Witnesses
Mr Pence – who is among those challenging Mr Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination – could be a star witness in the trial, and Mr Lauro has said he expects him to testify.
“We expect that he will be a witness, but what he has said consistently is that he never thought that the president acted criminally,” he told CBS Mornings.
“Mr Pence is a lawyer. Not once did he say, ‘Mr Trump, what you’re asking me is criminal, don’t do that’.”
Another challenge for Mr Trump’s defence is many of the witnesses he would want to call to the stand to say they told him there was election fraud are co-conspirators who will likely be reluctant to testify.
“Typically in federal prosecutions, those unnamed co-conspirators are not that thrilled about testifying for the defence because they are worried about being charged in the future,” Mr Fox said.
Speedy trial?
Mr Smith said he would pursue a speedy trial, in his remarks after he detailed the charges against Mr Trump.
However, Mr Lauro has suggested he will seek to push the trial back to a later date and
“This is going to be one of the biggest cases in the history of the United States,” he told NPR, adding his legal team wants “enough time to study the documents, be able to interview witnesses and look at the evidence in its totality”.
Mr Lauro has called the potential timeline “absurd”, telling NBC’s Today programme Mr Smith “had three and a half years [to investigate]”.
“Why don’t we make it equal?”
The man suspected of shooting dead two Israeli embassy workers in Washington DC leaned over and fired at them repeatedly after they fell to the ground, the FBI has said.
Elias Rodriguez, 31, has been charged with murdering Sarah Milgrim and her boyfriend Yaron Lischinsky, after they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday night.
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Footage has showed Rodriguez, from Chicago, chanting “free, free Palestine” as he was arrested.
It later emerged Mr Lischinsky had bought a ring and planned to propose to Ms Milgrim.
Authorities are investigating the killings as both a hate crime against the Jewish community and terrorism.
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Shootings suspect shouts ‘free Palestine!’
‘I did it for Gaza’
It comes as the FBI has said in a charging document on Thursday that surveillance footage shows how Ms Milgrim and Mr Lischinsky died.
Rodriguez is allegedly seen passing the couple after they left the museum before shooting them in the back.
The FBI says the footage then shows him leaning over the couple and firing at them several more times after they fell to the ground.
The video then shows Ms Milgrim attempting to crawl away before “(Rodriguez) followed behind her and fired again”, the charging document says.
The suspected gunman is then accused of reloading his weapon and firing at Ms Milgrim as she sat up.
According to the charging document, Rodriguez then jogged to the museum and once inside asked to speak to a police officer before stating that he “did it” and that he was unarmed.
He is then said to have told police: “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed.”
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Suspect ‘expressed admiration’ for fatal protest
The court document also states that 21 expended 9mm bullet cases were found at the scene and the gun was slide-locked – meaning it was empty of ammunition.
An empty gun magazine was also recovered from the scene.
The FBI says it has obtained travel records which show Rodriguez flew from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to the Reagan National in Washington DC on Tuesday with the gun in his checked baggage.
Rodriguez had bought the weapon in the state of Illinois on 6 March 2020, according to the charging document.
The FBI has said that while Rodriguez was in custody he “expressed admiration” for a US Air Force member who set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC on 25 February 2024.
Aaron Bushnell died in the apparent act of protest against the war in Gaza.
Rodriguez also told police he bought a ticket to the museum around three hours before the event that was attended by Ms Milgrim and Mr Lischinsky.
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During a brief court appearance at the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington DC today, Rodriguez was charged with two counts of first degree murder and with the murder of foreign officials.
He has also been charged with causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Rodriguez was told he could face life in prison or the death penalty if he is found guilty.
He remained calm throughout the hearing, paying attention to the proceedings throughout and confirmed that he is asking the court to appoint an attorney on his behalf.
He will next appear at a federal court in Washington DC on 18 June.
Murdered couple ‘were perfect for each other’
Meanwhile, Ms Milgrim’s father, Robert, says he feared his daughter might be in danger when he saw news alerts of a fatal shooting in Washington DC.
Ms Milgrim’s mother Nancy opened a phone locator app and saw Ms Milgrim was at the Capital Jewish Museum.
“Shortly after that, the Israeli ambassador called us on my wife’s phone,” Mr Milgrim told Sky News’ partner network NBC News, fighting back tears.
He added that it was the ambassador who told them Mr Lischinksy had bought a ring and was planning to propose to Ms Milgrim.
“They were perfect for each other, he said.
Mr Milgrim continued: “They just brought us joy, and her memory, which is a blessing, will continue to bring us joy – but it’s not the same as her not being here.”
Donald Trump hosted a dinner for investors in his meme coin on Thursday, as critics warned the US president was putting personal profit first.
Some 220 of the biggest investors in the $TRUMP meme coin descended on the exclusive dinner at Mr Trump’s private country club in Northern Virginia.
As the US president arrived, more than a hundred protesters at the Trump National Golf Club held signs that included “America is not for sale”, “stop crypto corruption” and “release the list”.
Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren described the dinner, where the US president spoke for about half an hour before dancing to the song YMCA, as an “orgy of corruption”.
Donald Trump leaves the White House to attend his own meme coin gala. Pic: Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein
Access to the dinner, and the president, was earned by purchasing enough of his $TRUMP meme coin to secure a seat.
The White House insisted Mr Trump would attend the event “in his personal time”, but the lectern he stood behind had the presidential seal.
NBC News reported that during his remarks, Mr Trump did not unveil any new crypto policies but spoke in support of a potential bitcoin reserve and then left promptly afterward.
In total, investors spent an estimated $148m (£110m), with the top 25 holders of the coin spending more than $111m (£82.56m), according to crypto intelligence firm Inca Digital.
A company controlled by the Trump family, and a second firm, hold 80% of the remaining $TRUMP coins and have so far earned $320.19m (£238.14m), including at least $1.35m (£1m) after the dinner announcement, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.
‘Trump a very successful businessman,’ says White House
According to blockchain analysis, more than half of the 220 holders who attended the black-tie event are likely based outside the US.
This has led to claims the US president has auctioned off access to himself to foreign investors for personal gain.
In response to criticisms about Mr Trump using his office to enrich himself from the meme coin, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “All of the president’s assets are in a blind trust, which is managed by his children.
“And I would argue, one of the many reasons that the American people re-elected this president back to this office is because he was a very successful businessman before giving it up to publicly serve our country.”
Protesters gather outside Trump National Golf Course ahead of the dinner.
Pic: Reuters
Trump arrives back at White House after attending the crypto dinner. Pic: AP/John McDonnell
Who was on the guest list?
One of those attending was China-born crypto entrepreneur and billionaire Justin Sun.
He won first place in the dinner contest with his $18.5m (£13.76m) wallet of the Trump meme coin and is the largest publicly known investor in the family’s crypto platform – which has made them hundreds of millions of dollars.
Mr Sun posted videos of himself visiting parts of the White House complex on Wednesday, and on Thursday of Mr Trump at the dinner event.
In February, the US Securities and Exchange Commission paused a 2023 fraud case against him, citing public interest.
Demonstrators protest near Trump National Golf Club before the arrival of the president.
Pic: AP/Rod Lamkey Jr
However, the identities of the majority of the coin holders attending the event remain unknown.
Of those going, one was simply known as Ogle, a crypto security specialist who appears in video interviews with his face covered by a bandana and sunglasses.
He says this is to protect his identity.
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Even some pro-Trump crypto voices worried his personal involvement may hurt efforts to establish credibility.
“It’s distasteful and an unnecessary distraction,” said Nic Carter, a Trump supporter and partner at the crypto investment firm Castle Island Ventures.
“We would much rather that he passes common sense legislation and leave it at that.”
The event was capped off with an after-party, called “Meme The Night,” thrown by a Singapore-based meme-coin engagement company called MemeCore.
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