Here’s why all those claims that Trump knew he was lying are in the indictment: because his false claims were the means Trump used to carry out the conspiracy to defraud. It will be measured by whether the government presents evidence to prove the elements of offense for each charge beyond a reasonable doubt. The government will show that Chesebro entered into the conspiracy via communications with Rudy and, later, Eastman, not directly with Trump. They have also laid out that Trump lied about what Pence had just told him (and there are contemporary witnesses that it happened before Trump made his false claims about Pence). The indictment notes several instances where Trump intimidated people counting the vote, mentioning the death threats that he caused Al Schmidt and Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss to suffer.

Source: Washington Post August 04, 2023 00:32 UTC