The evidence in former Donald Trump‘s election fraud case is “pretty damning” and could play badly with moderate votes, a former federal prosecutor has said.
Neama Rahmani was reacting to special counsel Jack Smith‘s release of a 165-page evidence summary on Wednesday.
“The evidence in Smith’s motion is pretty damning for the former president,” he told Newsweek. “Trump told his family and advisers that he was going to claim victory no matter what. That may turn off some moderate, undecided voters.”
Newsweek emailed the Trump campaign team for comment on Friday.
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event Milwaukee, Wisconsin, October 1, 2024. The prosecution’s evidence against Trump in his election fraud case was released on Wednesday.
Jim Watson/Getty Images
Rahmani, now president of the West Coast Trial Lawyers law firm in California, was referring to an allegation in the filing that was partly unsealed Wednesday, in which Trump is accused of telling his family that he would fight the election result, even if he lost.
The conversation allegedly occurred on the presidential helicopter after the election, when Trump addressed his wife, Melania, his daughter, Ivanka, and Ivanka’s husband, Jared Kushner.
A member of Trump’s staff is willing to testify that he overheard the conversation, the document states.
Trump is accused of conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct a Congressional official proceeding; obstruction and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights in connection with an alleged pressure campaign on state officials to reverse the 2020 election results.
Trump has pleaded not guilty in a Washington, D.C, court and has repeatedly said he is the victim of a political witch hunt. He has accused Smith of attempting to interfere in the 2024 presidential election by prosecuting him.
Rahmani said that Smith’s filing also helps establish Trump’s state of mind after the 2020 election.
“The motion is also important because it helps prove Trump’s knowledge that he lost the election and his intent to overturn the results nonetheless. “
“By detailing Trump’s communications with his inner circle, including his Attorney General and others who told him there was no fraud, Smith can get inside Trump’s head and prove the intent necessary for a criminal conviction,” Rahmani said.
Los Angeles attorney John J. Perlstein agreed that the new prosecution helps establish Trump’s intentions.
“He said that he wouldn’t accept the results if he were to lose and would do everything possible to get the election overturned. There is damning evidence against him, but whether it circumvents the immunity grant given by the Supreme Court is a whole other issue,” he told Newsweek.
On July 1, the Supreme Court granted Trump broad immunity from prosecution.
In late August, Smith filed an updated indictment of Trump, reshaping the case to comply with the Supreme Court‘s ruling granting immunity to presidents when conducting certain “official” acts.
The new indictment removes all accusations leveled against Trump regarding attempts to pressure the Department of Justice to falsely declare that President Joe Biden‘s 2020 election win was the result of massive fraud.
