Recent court filings suggest former President Donald Trump's defense strategy in his federal 2020 election interference case goes beyond trying to delay the trial's start date, CNN reported.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Dec. 13 paused the federal case accusing Trump of attempting to illegally challenge the 2020 election, and the former president is mounting an appeal claiming he is immune from the charges.
The trial had been scheduled to begin March 4.
Democrats hoping to see Trump, the current front-runner for the GOP's presidential nomination, convicted of a crime before November's election have pushed for a trial to begin as soon as possible.
Recent court filings and a CNN source familiar with the Trump team's approach indicate lawyers will say the former president was a victim of disinformation and overzealous government investigators.
What CNN termed two late-November "under-the-radar court filings" from Trump's attorneys say the legal team will try to point to federal government employees who are biased against him, in addition to alleging foreign influence and election disinformation that led him to believe the election was stolen.
Trump's lawyers said potential witnesses who are members of the intelligence community and law enforcement have "political bias" against the former president.
With special counsel team members having worked on allegations of fraud and the fake electors scheme in 2020 and 2021 for the Justice Department, Trump's lawyers have asked the court to expand the legal definition of the prosecution team to include other agencies so prosecutors would be prompted to turn over extensive documents.
As for alleged foreign influence, Trump's lawyers said prosecutors "cannot blame President Trump for public discord and distrust of the 2020 election results while refusing to turn over evidence that foreign actors stoked the very same flames," CNN reported Tuesday.
Trump's team has pointed to Russia's foreign intelligence service and a hack of the SolarWinds software that compromised data at several federal agencies in December 2020.
Trump's attorneys also seek access to intelligence about Iran and China attempting to interfere in U.S. politics.
The Supreme Court on Dec. 22 declined to decide immediately Trump's claim he cannot be prosecuted for trying to challenge the 2020 election, allowing a lower court to continue reviewing the issue.
U.S. prosecutors Saturday urged a federal appeals court to reject Trump's claim he cannot face criminal charges. Trump's lawyers argued in a Dec. 23 filing that allowing their client to be charged for conduct related to his official responsibilities would undermine the presidency.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is scheduled to hold arguments on the matter Jan. 9.
Reuters contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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