Trump’s Legal Motions in 2020 Election Case Seen as Strategy for 2024 Claims of Fraud

On the Jack podcast, legal analyst Allison Gill and former FBI deputy director Andy McCabe discussed former President Donald Trump’s legal maneuvers in his 2020 election interference case, highlighting how these actions could set the stage for him to claim fraud in the 2024 election. They connected Trump’s court filings, which they described as “absurd,” to a broader strategy of laying the groundwork for future challenges.

Gill referenced a tweet from MSNBC legal analyst Kristy Greenberg, who pointed out Trump’s pattern of requesting delays and filing motions to dismiss, claiming these legal moves are made so he can later accuse Democrats of election interference when the documents are released over his objection. “I vehemently agree,” said Gill, adding that Trump is “throwing red meat to his base” by portraying the legal process as biased against him.

Recently, Trump demanded that Judge Tanya Chutkan block the unsealing of new evidence in the federal election interference case, arguing that it would unfairly influence the 2024 election. However, the request was unsuccessful. Special counsel Jack Smith detailed a “mountain of evidence” against Trump, including his disregard for the truth and a pattern of fabricating voter fraud claims. Smith asserted that Trump’s actions were part of a private criminal plot to overturn the 2020 election, not official presidential duties.

McCabe weighed in, stating that Trump likely doesn’t care about the specifics of these legal motions. “All of these arguments they made in that absurd motion for the extra delay, they’re just nonsensical,” McCabe said. He noted that while these filings consume time and resources, their broader purpose seems to be part of a “foot-dragging and delay strategy.”

But beyond mere delay, McCabe believes these motions are also about building a record for future legal challenges. “I think what you’re saying is true,” McCabe said, agreeing with Gill’s analysis. “This is more of setting up a record that they can use later as the basis of legal attacks, appeals, things of that nature.” He predicted that Trump’s campaign would use these arguments to claim that the 2024 election was compromised by “election interference” and unconstitutional actions.

Gill concurred, suggesting Trump’s legal filings are designed to create material for future lawsuits. “He wants something to put in a lawsuit pleading to say that the election needs to be redone because of this interference,” she said, agreeing with McCabe’s characterization of it as the “Hail Mary of all Hail Marys.”

Gill concluded that many of Trump’s legal motions lack substance, adding, “He just wants something to complain about,” framing it as a tactic to contest the 2024 election results.