Audio By Carbonatix
Donald Trump on Thursday urged a federal judge to toss out two obstruction charges central to the case that the former U.S. president illegally sought to overturn his 2020 election defeat, citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling raising the legal bar for those offenses.
Lawyers for Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, argued in a court filing that the Supreme Court's ruling requires U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to dismiss charges accusing Trump of corruptly obstructing an official proceeding – the congressional certification of his loss to Democrat Joe Biden on Jan. 6, 2021 – and conspiring to do so.
Trump is also seeking the dismissal of the two other charges in the indictment on other grounds.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to a four-count indictment accusing him of a multi-part conspiracy to block the collection of votes and certification of his election defeat.
Trump's argument is based on 6-3 Supreme Court decision in June, in which the justices sided with a criminal defendant charged under the same obstruction law who was accused of taking part in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
The court found that defendants charged under the law must have acted to impair “the availability or integrity" of documents or other records related to an official proceeding - or attempted to do so.
The indictment alleges that Trump attempted to disrupt the congressional session by creating fraudulent slates of presidential electors pledged to support him in battleground states he lost and then pressured then-Vice President Mike Pence to accept those pro-Trump electors when Pence presided over the certification.
Trump's lawyers argued that prosecutors cannot show that Trump sought to impair evidence related to the election certification and cannot be held responsible for the conduct of rioters who delayed the congressional session.
The filing came a day after prosecutors provided a detailed account of their case against Trump as they argued it survives a separate U.S. Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.
Latest Stories
-
Absa Bank Ghana and IFC announce $50m facility to expand cocoa financing
8 minutes -
Ghana’s economic revival: Turning financial stability into economic prosperity
24 minutes -
AFCON 2027Q: Black Stars to depart Accra for Bouaké ahead of Ivory Coast clash
37 minutes -
Who to allow into your home, who should come into your cyberspace? Trust is becoming unbecoming
39 minutes -
At least 11 dead in mass shooting at house party in South Africa
57 minutes -
MoMo Fintech Lab attracts close to 1K entries from innovators across, applications end on Sept 30
1 hour -
Black Stars face Ivorian test as injuries force major squad changes
1 hour -
Save Nations Foundation donates learning materials to Nooria Islamic Basic School, calls for more support
1 hour -
From selling food to solving problems: How Esther Owusu Nkwantabisah rethought entrepreneurship
2 hours -
Explained: Ghana’s water plant deal that produced a $235m judgment debt instead of water for 500,000 people
2 hours -
High Cost of Domestic Airline Fares: Can government do something about it?
2 hours -
Inflation, cedi depreciation put BoG’s MPC under pressure as policy rate decision looms
2 hours -
Lawyer denies Salomey Baffoe received money from ‘Ghana Jollof’ account operator
2 hours -
Beyond politics: Why Kwame Nkrumah’s ideals still matter for today’s leaders
3 hours -
Top South African policeman charged with sexual offences
3 hours