Trump's Jan. 6 defense is like bank robber blaming security for trying to stop him: expert

Legal analysts are diving through the details included in special counsel Jack Smith's Wednesday filing, and coming up with explanations and observations about what it contains.

National security expert Marcy Wheeler pointed out the crux of Smith's argument is likening Trump's defense arguments to "a bank robber [] defend[ing] himself by blaming the bank’s security guard for failing to stop him."

Former prosecutor Glenn Kirschner also referred to that piece of the filing. "What’s next? Perhaps a court ruling that a person who robs a bank can, of course, go on to be president of the bank he robbed. Oh, and how about a companion ruling that if he robs the bank AGAIN, he has bank president immunity against prosecution?"

They are referring to Trump's claim that the election was stolen and that January 6 was in reaction to that. He follows that by claiming he should be immune from prosecution because he had been acting while president.

Wheeler also pointed to this excerpt from Smith's filing: "Whether others — be they civilians or foreign actors — said untrue things on the internet does not exonerate the defendant for the lies he told to his followers," and she called that the "heart of Trumpism."

Trump's lawyers have complained to the court that Smith continues to submit court filings and push them to respond when they're awaiting the federal appeals court decision on the claim his presidential immunity protects him from prosecutions.

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Lawyer Bradley Moss explained that Donald Trump's "absolute immunity" claim will likely be struck down at the appeals court and it should end up at the Supreme Court.

"Smith's team keeps filing their pre-trial motions in anticipation of the matter coming back before Chutkan," he posted on social media. "No deadline exists for Trump to respond to any of this for now. All deadlines are on hold and likely will remain that way for 2-3 months.

"But if the appeals fail on immunity, Trump will be faced with a slew of Government filings to which he'll need to start responding and a trial judge ready to get things rolling. Chutkan will give him some time but she isn't going to let him take all day to prepare responses to these filings. Trump's hope remains that either victory at the [Supreme Court] or pure scheduling delays prevent a trial before November 2024."

Former federal prosecutor and University of Alabama law professor Joyce Vance explained that lawyers and defendants can't walk into court and say whatever they want before a jury.

"For evidence to be admissible, it has to be relevant to an issue at trial," she said.

That is likely why Smith is saying that it's pointless to claim that agency preparation for Jan. 6 has no bearing on the case. There are a slew of other conspiracy theories that Trump throws out about President Joe Biden is waging an "election interference" war against him, which Smith has asked not to be admissible as they have no bearing on Trump's guilt or innocence in the January 6 case.

"Expect more motions like this from Smith, limiting what Trump can and cannot do in front of a jury," Vance predicted.