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The Justice Department is monitoring Donald Trump's public appearances to gather information for his upcoming election fraud trial, a former prosecutor has said.
Trump's public statements supporting jailed Jan. 6 rioters showed up in Justice Department court filings on November 5, showing that Trump's public appearances are being examined for incriminating evidence, former Federal Prosecutor Joyce Vance wrote on Thursday.
The former president was indicted on four counts in Washington, D.C., for allegedly working to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.
"As we've hoped all along, someone on Smith's team has been keeping tabs on Trump's public appearance," Vance wrote in her blog Civil Discourse.
Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith is still gathering evidence on Trump ahead of Trump's March 2024 trial in Washington, D.C., on charges of trying to illegally tamper in the 2020 presidential election.
"The Special Counsel writes that Trump's support for some of the most violent participants in January 6 will be part of his evidence, including a September 17, 2023, appearance on Meet the Press, where Trump, referring to Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, now convicted of seditious conspiracy, said: 'I want to tell you, he and other people have been treated horribly'," Vance wrote.
It is one of four criminal cases that Trump is facing while he campaigns as frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination. He has also pleaded not guilty to charges in the other cases and has repeatedly said that they form part of a political witch hunt. Newsweek sought email comment on Friday from Donald Trump's attorney.
Trump remains the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential race.
Prosecutors' nine-page filing on Tuesday said Trump has a "historical record" of making claims that election results were rigged.
It shows that Trump's public statements are being monitored to harvest evidence to be used against him.
"Evidence of the defendant's post-conspiracy embrace of particularly violent and notorious rioters is admissible to establish the defendant's motive and intent on January 6—that he sent supporters, including groups like the Proud Boys, whom he knew were angry, and whom he now calls 'patriots,' to the Capitol to achieve the criminal objective of obstructing the congressional certification," the Justice Department filing states.
"In addition, his statements in this time period agreeing that he then held, and still holds, enormous influence over his supporters' actions is evidence of his knowledge and intent to obstruct the certification, as he chose not to exercise that influence to mitigate the violence on January 6," the filing adds.
It also notes that Trump is also publicly promising to pardon the Jan. 6 rioters if elected president.
"Evidence of the defendant's statements regarding possible pardons for January 6 offenders is admissible to help the jury assess the credibility and motives of trial witnesses, because through such comments, the defendant is publicly signaling that the law does not apply to those who act at his urging regardless of the legality of their actions," the Justice Department notes.
Trump Campaign Spokesperson Steven Cheung wrote in a response statement that prosecutors are "getting so desperate to attack President Trump that they are perverting justice by trying to include claims that weren't anywhere to be found in their dreamt up, fake indictment."
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About the writer
Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more