Ex-DOJ Official Thoroughly Dismantles Trump's Election Conspiracy Defenses

Mary McCord, a former top Justice Department official, shot down multiple defenses that Donald Trump and his defense team have been floating in his election conspiracy case.

On Sunday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “The Beat,” McCord examined talking points the former president and his allies have been using against criminal charges that he conspired to overturn his 2020 election loss.

They range from Trump not being responsible because he truly thought the election had been stolen to his excuse that he was “just joking around” when pressuring officials to flip the result.

McCord, a former acting head of the Justice Department’s national security division, debunked Trump’s claims that his indictment is a violation of his First Amendment rights and that he is innocent because his lawyers told him the election was fraudulent.

Watch Raw Story’s video here:

Federal prosecutors last week asked U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the case, to schedule the trial for January 2024.

It “would vindicate the public’s strong interest in a speedy trial,” they wrote. “It is difficult to imagine a public interest stronger than the one in this case in which the defendant — the former president of the United States — is charged with three criminal conspiracies.”

Trump, the front-runner in the Republican 2024 race, also has been indicted for mishandling classified materials after leaving the White House and faces trial in the Stormy Daniels hush money payment case next year. He also is likely to be indicted in Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis’ investigation into his effort to overthrow the election result in the state.