Special counsel Jack Smith slapped back Wednesday at yet another demand from former President Donald Trump to dismiss his federal election interference case, court records show.
Smith filed in Washington D.C. federal court a response to Trump's recent motion to dismiss charges that he corruptly attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election, won by President Joe Biden, in the lead-up to the U.S. Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021.
"[His] half-hearted arguments... lack merit," Smith wrote. "The defendant’s supplement ignores entirely that the superseding indictment includes allegations that involve the creation of false evidence."
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This was Smith's response to Trump's lawyer's claims that a recent Supreme Court ruling — not their decision to grant Trump limited presidential immunity — invalidated charges that he conspired and attempted to obstruct congressional proceedings on Jan. 6.
The Supreme Court in Fischer v. U.S. ruled Jan. 6 rioters could only be tried for obstruction of congressional proceedings if they created false evidence or impaired objects of official proceedings, according to a Vox analysis.
On Wednesday, Smith argued this is precisely what Trump did when he tried to pass a slate of fake electors through Congress.
"[Trump's] motion ignores entirely that the case against him includes allegations that he and his co-conspirators sought to create and use false evidence—fraudulent electoral certificates—as a means of obstructing the certification proceeding," Smith wrote.
"Fischer did not invalidate Section 1512 or elevate basic pleading requirements."
Smith's analysis of Trump's motion will likely meet with approval from legal analyst and political podcaster Allison Gill, who recently described his arguments in the case as the "death of all logic."
Correction: This story was updated at 3:25 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 16, to reflect Gill's quotation was not a direct assessment of Trump's motion to dismiss.