On Wednesday, Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith’s briefing laying out the reasoning behind continuing the election subversion case against former President Donald Trump was partially unsealed, revealing evidence that, no matter the outcome of the 2020 election, Trump intended to remain in office, even if it was through illegal means.
Smith’s filing was necessary after the U.S. Supreme Court gave Trump and all former presidents unprecedented immunity against prosecution for actions they performed as president, a ruling they issued this past summer. According to Smith, Trump’s illegal acts were performed as a candidate for office, not as president, justifying the need to continue the case against him.
Included within the brief are comments from Trump, heard by several witnesses, indicating that he was going to dispute the election results if he lost, and that he had planned a declaration of victory well before Election Day.
Speaking to his family, Trump told them that losing the election wouldn’t make a difference. “It doesn’t matter if you won or lost the election. You still have to fight like hell,” Trump said, according to an unnamed witness cited in Smith’s brief who overheard the conversation.
The witness, who is willing to testify, said the remarks were made in a private capacity, and not in the presence of any White House advisers.
The witness heard “an unprompted comment that the defendant made to his family members in which the defendant suggested that he would fight to remain in power regardless of whether he had won the election,” the filing from Smith said.
Another witness noted that Trump was “going to declare victory” no matter what the election results were, and had made the plan to do so well before Election Day.
“He’s going to declare victory. That doesn’t mean he’s the winner, he’s just going to say he’s the winner,” that witness said, per the filing.
Trump overstepped his executive authority to “perpetuate himself in power, contrary to the will of the people,” the special counsel asserted.
It appears that Trump is once again preparing to dispute the legitimacy of the election if he loses, as he has repeatedly (and baselessly) suggested that undocumented immigrants will illegally cast ballots against him in this year’s presidential race.
Every state in the country has mechanisms in place to ensure that votes are cast only by citizens. Still, Trump laid the groundwork for contesting the election results in the September presidential debate against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
Democrats and the Harris campaign are “trying to get [immigrants] to vote, and that’s why they’re allowing them into our country,” Trump claimed, without evidence.
When Trump preemptively contested the election results in 2020, he focused on disputing the legitimacy of mail-in voting. This year, however, Trump’s strategy centers around attacking and scapegoating immigrants, and he has been encouraging his supporters to use mail-in ballots if they desire to do so.
Trump and his allies “are pre-deploying a big lie to justify their future efforts to disrupt or overturn elections,” Wendy Weiser, a lawyer with the Brennan Center for Justice, told HuffPost regarding Trump’s strategy.
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $150,000 in one-time donations and to add 1,500 new monthly donors.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy