By Janice Hisle and Jan Jekielek
8/3/2023
Critics charge DOJ with attempting to criminalize political disagreements
The third indictment of former President Donald Trump could produce unintended consequences for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), one of his lawyers says.
Legal experts disagree about the strength of the Aug. 1 indictment itself. But in interviews with The Epoch Times, they concurred with Mr. Trump’s legal spokeswoman, New Jersey attorney Alina Habba, on one point: DOJ prosecutors may have difficulty proving their case.
Mr. Trump is scheduled to appear in a Washington federal court today, Aug. 3, on a four-count indictment. It alleges that the former president willfully made untrue claims that the 2020 election of Democrat President Joe Biden was fraudulent.
The election dispute culminated in a protest in Washington; a number of agitators breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, against Mr. Trump’s expressed wishes as Congress was preparing to certify Mr. Biden’s victory. More than 1,000 people, including some who committed no violence, were charged.
The DOJ is alleging that Mr. Trump orchestrated a conspiracy against the U.S. government during the two months leading to Jan. 6, 2021, the indictment says.
Mind-Readers?
Under presidential immunity and free speech rights, Mr. Trump is allowed to dispute the election, Ms. Habba said. She also questions how the government can show that Mr. Trump knew he was making false assertions.
"The thing that makes this case the most weak is: How are you going to prove what he actually believed?" Ms. Habba said in an interview with The Epoch Times on Aug. 2, a day after the new indictment was filed.
Mr. Trump has never conceded defeat and has continued to assert that the election was "rigged" or "stolen" ever since Mr. Biden was inaugurated as the 46th president in January 2021.
Ms. Habba and many other lawyers are denouncing the latest indictment of Mr. Trump as an attempt to criminalize political disagreements.
Attorney Mike Allen, a legal analyst based in Cincinnati, Ohio, told The Epoch Times: "Even if what Trump said was not accurate, he’s allowed to do that; the First Amendment protects lies. It’s not a pretty thing. But that’s the way it is."
Accused of Going Too Far
Mr. Trump and his supporters say the latest indictment is another example of a "weaponized" justice system’s disparate treatment of him.
They point out that no one was charged for the false statements that fueled the years-long and costly "Russian collusion" investigations of Mr. Trump. The FBI would never have launched that probe if it had followed its own rules, Special Counsel John Durham concluded in a May report.
Further, Mr. Trump and his allies point out that Democrats faced no repercussions for their strenuously objecting to the results of several elections and alleging that Mr. Trump "stole" the 2016 election.
‘A Dangerous Proposition’
But Ms. Habba says that, by bringing the latest charges against Mr. Trump, the government is taking a number of risks.
"These cases are tough to prove on a good day, but they [the DOJ prosecutors] also forget that they’ve exposed themselves," she said. "When you bring a lawsuit, you now open the door to subpoenas. You now open the door to us being able to ask you questions about the legitimacy of the 2020 election, for us being able to look at things like that."
"So, you know, it’s a dangerous proposition, and I’m not sure it was well-thought-through, to be honest," she said.
Ms. Habba called the indictment "sloppy" and said the repeated prosecutions of Mr. Trump have made federal prosecutors’ political motivations very clear. "It’s for the headline, not for the win," Ms. Habba said.
DOJ spokesman Peter Carr declined to comment.
Prosecution Seems ‘Political’
Polls show Mr. Trump is the clear frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination to challenge the Democrats’ nominee, presumably Mr. Biden, in the 2024 election.
Mr. Allen said that, to him, the prosecution seems to be "political."
He also observed that, when Special Counsel Jack Smith announced the charges during a short news conference on Aug. 1, "he was visibly nervous."
Mr. Allen detected that Mr. Smith’s voice was "quivering somewhat," and "he just did not seem sure of himself."
"I think he knows he’s out on a legal limb on this thing," Mr. Allen said.
"You know, this is an indictment of the former president of the United States and the leading Republican candidate for the election in 2024—pretty important stuff to the American people," Mr. Allen said. "Why wouldn’t he take questions? Again, I think it speaks volumes."
Mr. Trump’s allies allege that his political rival’s administration prosecuting him constitutes a type of election interference. But Mr. Biden has denied influencing Mr. Smith’s pursuit of charges against the former president.
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