Special Counsel Jack Smith Demands to Know Whether Trump Plans to Argue in Court That He Was Following the Advice of His Lawyers

A federal investigation into former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election has revealed that dozens of witnesses have withheld information on the basis of attorney-client privilege. Special counsel Jack Smith is now demanding to know whether Trump plans to argue in court that he was simply following the advice of his lawyers.

According to the court filing, Smith’s office is asking U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to require Trump’s team to disclose by December whether he plans to argue at trial that he relied on the advice of counsel in the aftermath of his 2020 election loss.

Several lawyers in Trump’s circle, including then-Attorney General William Barr, have already said they told the former president that his attempts to overturn the election were unfounded because there was no evidence of widespread election fraud. However, Trump chose to rely upon a fringe group of lawyers that former White House counsel Pat Cipollone had warned him against.

The court filing is the latest development in the ongoing investigation into Trump’s attempts to overturn the election results. It is unclear at this time what the outcome of the investigation will be, but it is clear that Smith is determined to get to the bottom of the matter.

It remains to be seen whether Trump will be able to successfully argue that he was simply following the advice of his lawyers when he attempted to overturn the election results. The outcome of this investigation could have far-reaching implications for the former president and his legal team.