The January 6 Indictment: Smith Claims to Uphold the Constitution by Violating It

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

55% : But the Trump forces, with some verisimilitude, could claim in good faith that Trump "won" if only properly cast ballots were counted.
49% : He knows very well that Trump never claimed to have "won" as the disputed states had certified.
40% : Smith, in short, plays a shell game when he avers that Trump falsely asserted he "won" states he didn't win.
38% : But if Smith gets his way, he can introduce evidence he likes, but not this inconvenient evidence that someone or something other than Trump caused the great commotion that day.
36% : Recently, to keep "irrelevant disinformation" out of trial evidence presented to the jury, Smith moved to prohibit Trump from blaming, among others, the political motives of the prosecution, involvement of the National Guard, covert government agents, the Capitol Hill Police, or of "foreign actors," or introducing the intelligence community's assessment of election security.
36% : Given what should be the leeway afforded Trump to defend himself, along with multiple co-conspirators, the trial to which Smith gave architecture in the sprawling indictment should, underline should, last five months or more.
34% : Indeed, let's say that Trump could show evidence that much of the violent trespassing was encouraged by undercover government agents ("Ray Epps" et al.)
34% : And in defense, Trump seeks due process under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments to a full defense.
32% : Here are a few examples of serious election concerns, not sufficient to overturn the election via limited court review but sufficient to induce a reasonable belief that probably or arguably Trump really won if only valid votes were counted.
32% : Disqualifying all 20,000 dropbox votes, which by a 4-3 vote the Democratic Wisconsin Supreme Court failed to do, would have won the state for Trump.
31% : Arizona had a 10,000-vote margin for Biden.Reversals in just these three states, with only a 40,000 Biden vote margin, would have tied Trump and Biden in electoral votes, with Congress giving the election to Trump.
29% : Trump was not involved in this planning, of which he was not told, but Nancy Pelosi's CHP agents were.
25% : Those wards with unusually high turn-out, approaching 100%, "fishtailed" against Trump, as he ran behind the ticket, whereas in normal turnout wards of 70-80%, Trump ran ahead of the ticket, not behind, as in the higher turnout "fishtail" districts.
24% : As Trump would admit, Biden "won" these five contested swing states per the procedures actually followed, and, yes, as has been discussed ad nauseum, a courtroom is not a proper forum to relitigate an election.
21% : Will he be arguing that these more probative claims are the "irrelevant" types of "disinformation" that Trump cannot put into evidence?
20% : So, to prove Trump wrong, Smith must deny Trump his rights under the Constitution to present a full-throated, relevant defense.
19% : Iran-Backed Houthis Fired Ballistic Missiles at American Ships Again Matt VespaConservative and moderate citizens should wish for the conviction of Donald Trump for violating the Constitution on January 6, 2021, if the prosecution can prove actionable fraud, provided that his conviction does not more blatantly violate that same Constitution.
19% : But, we must ask, if the "rioters" were, in fact, motivated by what Smith is claiming to be irrelevant concerns and not "fraud" by Trump, isn't that pertinent to Trump's defense?
17% : As the Senate's bipartisan report showed, long before Trump spoke on January 6, certain bad actors planned on forcing a tunnel at the Capitol.
17% : Trump lost Georgia by 12,000 votes.
16% : Just on the narrow issue of Trump's alleged mens rea, or fraudulent intent, there is plentiful evidence that Trump may have probably or arguably won in each of these five states if only valid ballots were counted and that Trump was sincere in this belief.
16% : If he allows Trump a proper defense, he will allow Trump the forum he has lacked to show that he probably or likely should have won and that the riots were not motivated by fraud.
14% : The indictment charges that Donald Trump, through false claims of election fraud, including falsely claiming to have "won," created an "atmosphere of mistrust and anger" and, on that basis, caused his supporters to "obstruct" the certification of Biden's election as President.
9% : In Smith's exuberance to do Biden's bidding to prove Trump a criminal, he now faces a dilemma.
7% : Accordingly, we pose this question to Trump haters, and as well to Judge Chutkan: do you want to convict Trump of violating the Constitution by your violating the Constitution?

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