By Erik Larson, Sabrina Willmer and Chris Strohm
Donald Trump’s indictment over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election is the biggest challenge yet for his squad of lawyers, who’ve been hitting the airwaves to preview defenses for what could eventually be the most consequential criminal trial in US history.
If Trump’s legal team can raise reasonable doubt in the mind of one juror — by blaming his lawyers or arguing that his false claims of election fraud were protected by the First Amendment, for example — the case brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith would collapse, forcing the government to choose between dropping the charges or retrying Trump.
Legal experts say the defenses are all long-shots, but not impossible. Trump’s attorney John Lauro has signaled that reasonable doubt is central to his strategy.
“The government, the Biden administration, would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump did not believe that he had won the election,” Lauro said on NBC’s Meet the Press on Aug. 6. “They will never be able to do that. And that’s why this prosecution is so ill-conceived.”
The basic US legal principle of reasonable doubt gives Trump’s lawyers plenty to work with, even if many of his critics see the case as a slam dunk. Convictions need to be unanimous, and one holdout on a jury can sink a case.
“One of...
Addressing a media briefing, Edirimanne said it had come to light that certain information provided about the youth, identified as Amila Nirmal, was inaccurate. He stated that the SLPP welcomes al...