Trump May Push Voter Fraud Claims During A Trial—But Even His Own Lawyers Won’t

Topline

Former President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday he intends to push false claims about voter fraud during his trial if he’s indicted by the Justice Department for trying to overturn the 2020 election—but those claims have a history of falling apart under legal scrutiny, as ex-attorney Rudy Giuliani’s court filing in a defamation case Tuesday marked the latest instance of Trump lawyers backtracking on claims about election fraud in court.

Rudy Giuliani at the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on May 19.

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Key Facts

Trump, who may imminently be indicted on federal charges stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, said on Truth Social Wednesday it will be the “TRIAL OF THE CENTURY” and his team will “have fun on the stand with all of these people that say the Presidential Election wasn’t Rigged and Stollen [sic].”

There is no credible evidence of widespread fraud during the 2020 election, and lawsuits alleging fraud after the election overwhelmingly failed, with many attorneys involved in the efforts to overturn the election now facing professional consequences and defamation suits for pushing the fraud claims.

In a court filing Tuesday in a defamation case brought by Georgia election workers who Giuliani tied to election fraud, Giuliani conceded the fraud claims he made involving the workers were “false” and “carry meaning that is defamatory per se,” backing down from the fraud claims at least for the purposes of this litigation.

Giuliani previously backed down from fraud claims when he represented the Trump campaign in a Pennsylvania case trying to overturn the state’s results, telling the judge during a court hearing, “This is not a fraud case” when questioned about his allegations under oath.

Several other Trump campaign attorneys backed down from fraud claims during litigation immediately after the election, pushing those claims in public but admitting under oath they could not argue fraud.

Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis was censured in Colorado based on her post-election claims, agreeing in court she violated a rule prohibiting “reckless, knowing, or intentional misrepresentations by attorneys” and made comments after the election that were “reckless” and had a “selfish motive,” including claiming the election was “stolen and Trump won by a landslide” and alleging election fraud.

In a defamation lawsuit against her from Dominion Voting Systems, attorney Sidney Powell—who advised Trump and unsuccessfully brought lawsuits alleging election fraud, but wasn’t formally affiliated with his campaign—defended herself by arguing that “no reasonable person would conclude that the statements [about election fraud involving Dominion machines] were statements of fact,” and her fraud claims were rather political statements that people would understand are “inexact” and “prone to exaggeration and hyperbole.”

Contra

Giuliani, Ellis and Powell have not backed down from their fraud claims outside of the courtroom despite what’s been said in court filings, characterizing their representations in court as legal tactics that aren’t meant to dispute the voter fraud allegations. Giuliani’s lawyer Joseph Sibley said in a statement Wednesday that despite Giuliani’s admission his statements were defamatory, the attorney “does not admit to Plaintiffs’ allegations” and was just trying to move the case forward, arguing his statements were still First Amendment protected speech. Giuliani spokesperson Ted Goodman said the filing was “designed to get to the legal issues of the case.” Ellis retweeted a comment after she was censured that argued she “never admitted she lied and isn’t a liar” and “nothing in the stipulation agreed to anything having been false, dishonest, deceptive, or intentional.” Powell has continued to push the voter fraud claims and has not admitted they were false, and the court filing that argues “reasonable people” shouldn’t take her allegations as factual also notes Powell “believed the allegations then and she believes them now.”

What To Watch For

The defamation case against Giuliani is still moving forward,. Trump could be indicted as soon as this week on federal charges stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Multiple sources report the target letter Trump received from federal prosecutors suggests Trump could be charged with several federal crimes as part of the Justice Department’s long-running investigation into the election and the January 6 attack on the Capitol building, including conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding and 18 U.S. Code § 241. That statute, which criminalizes oppressing or intimidating Americans in their exercise of their constitutional rights, is traditionally used to prosecute election interference, suggesting the DOJ could charge Trump for depriving voters of their rights by trying to overturn the results and voters’ lawfully cast ballots. All the potential crimes Trump could be indicted for carry potential prison sentences if he’s convicted.

Surprising Fact

Trump’s claims of election fraud come despite numerous reports suggesting he knew those claims were false. Multiple advisors have testified they informed Trump after the election there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud, and his campaign also reportedly commissioned multiple firms to investigate fraud claims, with both probes concluding there was no evidence to support those allegations. Emails turned over in federal court also showed that Trump signed a legal document under oath testifying it was “true and correct” that thousands of votes were fraudulently counted in Georgia, even though attorney John Eastman said Trump had been “made aware” that information was inaccurate.

Key Background

Trump and his allies waged a multi-pronged campaign after the 2020 election trying to overturn the results and alleging widespread fraud, which included dozens of lawsuits, efforts to pressure state lawmakers and stop Congress from certifying the vote count, and a “fake electors” scheme in which battleground state Republicans submitted false slates of electors to Congress claiming Trump had won their states. The effort overwhelmingly failed, and attorneys who helped Trump’s attempts to overturn the vote count have since faced significant consequences. Giuliani has had his law license suspended—and other attorneys could face similar fates—Powell and her co-counsel were sanctioned in Michigan, and Giuliani, Powell and other Trump allies have been sued for defamation by Dominion and rival voting company Smartmatic for fraud claims involving their machines. Giuliani has also been named as a target in the Fulton County, Georgia, district attorney’s criminal investigation into the 2020 election. The defamation case against Giuliani brought by Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss alleges the attorney “orchestrated a sustained smear campaign” against them that made them the “objects of vitriol, threats, and harassment,” accusing the attorney of intentional infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy as well as defamation. The Georgia secretary of state’s office has concluded the claims against Freeman and Moss are “false and unsubstantiated,” and Giuliani had already been sanctioned in the case and forced to pay attorneys fees due to his failure to turn over evidence.