DOJ Dashes Trump’s Hope: Election ‘Theft’ Not a Viable Defense

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has rejected President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud in the 2020 election. These claims, which allege widespread misconduct and fraudulent vote-counting, have been thoroughly debunked by multiple recounts in swing states and court rulings across the country. Despite this, Trump has continued to claim the election was “rigged” and “stolen” from him. However, DOJ lawyers argued in a recent brief filed in connection with a defamation lawsuit against Trump that his claims about the election are not a valid legal defense. This is because Trump’s beliefs about the illegitimacy of the election are unsupported by any facts or evidence. The brief argued that “the truth of the challenged statements (by President Trump) has no bearing on this case, and the defendants are not entitled to put the validity of the results of the 2020 presidential election at issue.” The DOJ brief, cited in support of Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, comes in response to a lawsuit filed by Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, a former United Nations official. Lord Malloch-Brown alleges that Trump defamed him by falsely claiming he meddled in the 2020 U.S. election. The DOJ’s stance is a clear rebuke of Trump’s repeated, yet unsubstantiated, accusations of voter fraud. Trump’s legal team has also failed to file any comprehensive evidence of fraud in the courts. The DOJ’s statement may have other implications for Trump and RNC figures beyond simply the Malloch-Brown case. By acknowledging there is no factual basis to the claim of mass election fraud, the DOJ appears to be closing the door on the possibility of challenging the 2020 presidential election results in a court of law. While the DOJ’s stance technically does not prevent Trump from continuing to publicly make such claims, it does provide an official ruling on the baselessness of his claims. Ultimately, the DOJ’s position makes it clear that any arguments or legal strategies relying on Trump’s false claims of a “stolen” election will not be entertained in a court of law. The DOJ’s position stands in direct contrast to Trump’s insistence that the election was fraudulent and that he, rather than Joe Biden, is the rightful president.