Why Donald Trump’s lawyers won’t be able to rely on the same arguments other lawyers have made on behalf of Jan. 6 rioters. A school shooting in Iowa leaves one student dead and five people injured. And a Stanley cup collaboration with Starbucks sends fans into a frenzy.
Here’s what to know today.
Why Trump can’t use the ‘idiot’ defense during his Jan. 6 trial
A college student said participating in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, was “the stupidest decision of my life.” A federal public defender said his client, also a rioter, wanted to learn how to “critically think” to avoid being misled again.
In fact, many lawyers have struck a similar theme when seeking leniency for Jan. 6 rioters. They have argued their clients wanted former President Donald Trump’s “respect” and thought that they were “following presidential orders.” Other lawyers have said their clients have PTSD, bipolar disorder, anxiety or learning difficulties. Some defendants have even called themselves idiots.
It’s hard to see the same approach working for Trump as his own Jan. 6 trial nears.
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In court filings in connection with special counsel Jack Smith’s election interference case, which could go to trial as soon as March, Trump’s lawyers have gone the opposite route. For example, they have written that Trump’s worries about election fraud were not knowingly false and were “maintained in good faith.”
Not to mention Trump has bragged in the past about his Ivy League education and described himself as “a very smart guy” with “a very good brain.” It’s likely he wouldn’t like his lawyers arguing that he lacked the mental capacity to distinguish inherent disinformation from reality.
There’s also a practical reason Trump’s lawyers can’t have trouble arguing that he fell for misinformation: Willful blindness, they Supreme Court ruled…
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