US President Donald Trump has asked a court to dismiss the poll interference case against him, with his lawyers arguing that his attempts to cast doubt on the 2020 election fell within his duties as President and were not subject to criminal prosecution.
Trump had made a series of allegations about fraud in the 2020 presidential election after his loss, but no evidence has emerged of any widespread fraud that would have altered the result, reports the BBC.
In a new filing in the case case on Thursday, his lawyers argued that Trump’s public statements about the 2020 contest were attempts at “ensuring the integrity of federal elections”.
“The acts alleged in the indictment lie firmly within the ‘outer perimeter’ of the President’s official responsibility. Therefore, they cannot form the basis of criminal charges against President Trump,” they argued.
The charges relating to the 2020 election were brought in Washington D.C. by special prosecutor Jack Smith, who has said that interfered with the normal transfer of presidential power after his legal challenges to the vote were unsuccessful, the BBC reported.
Trump is charged with conspiracy to defraud the US; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of an official proceeding; and conspiracy against the rights of citizens.
The former President has repeatedly said that the charges against him, as well as all of the other legal cases against him and his companies, were politically motivated.
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