Trump wants to use the lawsuit to challenge findings that the 2020 election was fair

Lawyers for former President Donald J. Trump said in court filings that they planned to challenge several government agencies’ findings that the 2020 election was conducted fairly as part of their efforts to defend Mr. Trump against federal charges that he tried to undo the results. of the breed.

The lawyers also suggested in the papers that they planned to create a host of red herrings as part of their defense, indicating that they are pursuing unrelated cases such as the criminal prosecution of Hunter Biden and the investigation into the handling of classified documents by former want to take Vice President Mike Pence to court. case of election interference.

The twin filings that Mr. Trump’s lawyers made late Monday were formal requests for prosecutors to provide them with reams of additional material that they believe could help them fight the conspiracy charge accusing Mr. Trump of attempting to undermine the lawful transfer of presidential power. years ago and remains in office despite his loss to Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Criminal defendants routinely make such requests in so-called motions to compel discovery, but many of the requests in Mr. Trump’s two files were lengthy efforts that are likely to be denied. Ultimately, Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, who is overseeing the election interference case, will have the power to decide what, if any, data Mr. Trump will get.

But even if his lawyers get far less than they asked for, the scope of their requests can be read as a kind of outline of how they plan to fight the case, which will go to federal district court in March. Washington.

At the heart of their strategy, the court papers say, is a plan to challenge the findings of the intelligence community, the FBI and other federal agencies that the election was not marred by widespread fraud.

The lawyers plan to argue that government reports upholding the integrity of the election were in fact a “partisan effort to provide false assurances to the public.” By calling into question the consensus that the election was secure, the lawyers hope to show that Mr. Trump acted in good faith when he spread lies that the vote count had been tampered — a move that will undermine prosecutors’ efforts to prove his criminal intentions. .

To make that argument, Mr. Trump’s legal team has asked Judge Chutkan to force the special counsel, Jack Smith, who is prosecuting the federal cases against the former president, to give him all internal government documents that run counter to dominant view that the election was fair.

These requests were just some of 59 separate requests for documents included in more than 70 pages of court documents filed by Mr. Trump’s legal team. Looking for anything that might help them prove the race wasn’t secure, the lawyers filed additional requests for information about how federal officials assessed cyberattacks around the time of the election and about efforts by foreign governments to interfere.

The lawyers suggested yet another defense strategy and also asked for documents that could help them undermine Mr. Smith’s claim that Mr. Trump was responsible for the violence that erupted at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. They specifically asked Judge Chutkan to grant them access to any information about security measures implemented at the Capitol before the attack and about the presence of federal agents or informants who were on the scene during the riot.

Almost from the moment the election interference charges were filed in August, Trump’s lawyers have tried to portray the case as a direct attempt by Biden to sabotage the man likely to be his chief rival in the 2024 election. made that argument not only without any evidence, but also despite the fact that the charges were filed by Mr. Smith, an independent prosecutor.

The lawyers have specifically accused Mr. Biden of wanting Mr. Trump to be indicted in retaliation for the investigation into Hunter Biden, who was indicted in a separate prosecution on federal gun charges in September. And Monday’s discovery filings suggested that Trump’s lawyers would like nothing more than to muddy the election interference case by introducing evidence about Hunter Biden at trial.

To that end, the lawyers requested any information regarding “coordination” between the Justice Department and the Biden administration or Mr. Biden’s family.

In another far-fetched request, the lawyers asked for any records of the Justice Department’s dealings with Mr. Pence, who was under investigation earlier this year after he returned to federal officials several classified documents that he had kept while in office. left office.

In their filing, Mr. Trump’s lawyers suggested, without citing any evidence, that Mr. Pence, who is likely to be a key government witness in the election interference trial, had “an incentive to curry favor with the authorities.” because of the possible charges he faced. in his investigation of secret documents.

Judge Chutkan will not rule on Mr. Trump’s requests until after Mr. Smith’s prosecutors respond to them next month. And her final decision on discovery is just one of many important decisions she will have to make in the coming days.

She is about to issue an order on Mr. Trump’s claims that he enjoyed “absolute immunity” from the election charges because the charges arose from official actions he took while in the White House. She is also expected to decide whether to allow cameras into her courtroom and televise the trial.