Special counsel Jack Smith claims Trump can be found guilty in Jan 6 case of false election claims even if he truly believed it was stolen

The initial indictment against Trump says that he "made knowingly false claims that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the 2020 presidential election" as part of an effort to overturn the results, reports the Daily Mail.

This recent 79-page filing goes against an argument by Trump's legal defense that he was not at all deceptive, as it is his sincere belief that "the election was stolen."

"Just as the president of a company may be guilty of fraud for using knowingly false statements of facts to defraud investors, even if he subjectively believes that his company will eventually succeed ... the defendant may be guilty of using deceit to obstruct the government function by which the results of the presidential election are collected, counted, and certified, even if he provides evidence that he subjectively believed that the election was 'rigged,'” according to the filing.

Trump is faced a myriad of legal battles amid his 2024 presidential campaign. On Monday, the former president referred to a separate case of his, the civil fraud trial brought forth by New York Attorney General Letitia James, as "ridiculous" and said it amounts to "election interference."

"These are political operatives that I’m going to be dealing with right now," he said, later remarking that "it’s a very sad situation for our country."

This comes after a 3-judge panel on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia allowed for a temporary stay last week on a gag order that was imposed on Trump by Judge Tanya Chutkan in the January 6 conspiracy case.

"No court in American history has imposed a gag order to silence any political candidate—until now. The district court’s unconstitutional gag order prevents President Trump—the leading candidate for President of the United States—from engaging in core political speech, which is entitled to the highest level of protection under the First Amendment," read the emergency motion that had been filed by Trump's attorneys.