Special Counsel Jack Smith Honing in on Oval Office Meeting Where Trump Bragged About Election Security, CNN Sources Claim
July 25 2023, Published 1:00 p.m. ET
Special Counsel Jack Smith's team is honing in on a February 2020 election security briefing that may be pertinent to the investigation into former president Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the election, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Insiders said that during this meeting, U.S. officials informed Trump how secure the election system was, noting there would be mail-in ballots, security audits for voting, and other means of protection.
CNN sources claimed that Trump, the commander-in-chief at the time, was so convinced that he suggested doing a press conference where he could take credit for that work and tout the impressive security measures. Sean Lyngaas, Kylie Atwood, Zachary Cohen, and Evan Perez's findings were reported on during Monday's edition of The Lead.
"So, this is, as you say, a contrast to what he was saying just weeks later where he ramped up conspiracy theories and was full bore in the fact that the election was not going to turn into his favor, Bianna," said Lyngaas.
They followed up with a clip of Trump's public remarks in April 2020 to illustrate how he may have had a change of heart after realizing his chances of reelection were shrinking.
"The mail ballot, they cheat, OK? People cheat. Mail ballots are very dangerous thing for this country because they're cheaters. They're going to collect them. They're fraudulent in my cases," Trump stated in the audio.
Lyngaas pointed out that Trump's rhetoric about voter fraud escalated in the weeks after the aforementioned meeting, which is now being closely examined "because of what it says about Trump's mindset and how he absorbed very factual information that was reiterated to him and which remained true on election day."
As for how it would impact Smith's investigation, they said the special counsel has been keen on trying to understand if the former president was coaxed into believing certain claims "or whether this was all part of the act that the former president was engaged in, as a way to overturn the election," Perez explained to viewers.
During a recent radio interview, Trump defended his public remarks and said it would be "very dangerous" if he went to prison over the insurrection, explaining that his supporters are "a passionate group of voters" who trust in him and what he's said to be true.
The former president has blasted Smith as "deranged" and a "Trump hater."
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Trump still faces a third possible indictment from Smith after being charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the Manhattan District Attorney's case regarding hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
He also faces a 37-count federal indictment, for which he also denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty, in connection to his handling of classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago.
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