Trump attorney in 2020 election investigation says he ‘did what any president was required to do’
Eden Villalovas
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Former President Donald Trump’s new attorney defended him regarding Jack Smith’s investigations, claiming he acted as any president would be required to in the 2020 election.
“He’s done nothing criminal, and he’s made his case that he was entitled to take these positions as president of the United States when he saw all these election discrepancies and irregularities going on,” attorney John Lauro said on Fox News on Friday. “He did what any president was required to do because he took an oath to do exactly that.”
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Trump added the new criminal defense attorney to his legal team on Thursday. Lauro will be focused on a possible third indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The federal investigation is led by Smith, who already brought charges against Trump in the classified documents case in June.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon rejected the Trump team’s efforts to delay the trial date in fear the case would affect the presidential 2024 election, setting the trial to start on May 20, 2024, in Florida.
Trump posted on Tuesday to his social media platform, Truth Social, announcing he received a letter Sunday from Smith, claiming he is a target of the Justice Department’s investigation into potential 2020 election interference. The target letter marks an official correspondence from prosecutors to individuals under investigation.
“In the same week that Joe Biden is ensnarled in a massive bribery allegation and at the same time that the president — President Trump is leading in the polls,” Lauro said. “So something’s going on here that’s not quite right. But there’s no need to appear in front of any grand jury right now.”
Lauro said Trump declined Smith’s proposition to come before a grand jury because the former president “did absolutely nothing wrong.”
Lauro argued the Justice Department’s investigation is politically motivated and pushed for cameras in the courtroom if Trump is indicted in the election fraud case.
“I would hope that the Department of Justice would join in that effort so that we can take the curtain away and all Americans can see what’s happening,” Lauro said.
Fox News anchor John Roberts reminded Lauro that Trump urged to keep cameras out of his indictment in New York, and photography is not permitted in federal court.
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Under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, photography and broadcasting in a courtroom are banned unless a judge grants permission.
“We’re gonna have a process — we’re gonna have a process in D.C.,” Lauro said in response to Roberts’s comments.