A former House Jan. 6 committee investigator assailed Donald Trump’s attorney over “shallow attempts’ to defend the former president in connection with the election conspiracy case, Salon reports.
Temidayo Aganga-Williams, an attorney who served as an investigator for the House Jan. 6 committee, slammed Trump attorney John Lauro over claims that the former president was speaking in a way that was “aspirational” and not criminal.
Lauro, during an appearance on Fox News, said that, "Every single thing that President Trump is being prosecuted for involved aspirational asks – asking state legislatures, asking state governors, asking state electoral officials to do the right thing.
“In fact, even asking Vice President Pence was protected by free speech."
Aganga-Williams, a partner at the law firm Selendy Gay Elsberg, told Salon that Lauro’s comments don’t inspire much confidence in his legal case.
"These shallow attempts to explain away the damning conduct described in the indictment are a clear sign that Trump does not have a strong defense to the charges,” Aganga-Williams said.
"When a defendant has a convincing defense, he leads with it. President Trump's lawyer is instead ignoring the detailed indictment and leading with baseless claims. This may work for Trump in front of his political base, but it will not work for a jury."
But it’s Lauro’s characterization of Trump's requests as "aspirational," in particular, that Aganga-Williams argues are refuted by the indictment, which includes several examples of Trump "acting with a sober mind and with criminal intent."
"The indictment is filled with evidence that Trump knew what he was doing and that he knew it was wrong," Aganga-Williams said.
