These 3 details in Fani Willis' indictment help prove Trump's criminal intent: analysis
Will Saletan, a writer at The Bulwark, has combed through Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' indictment of former President Donald Trump and his allies and has found some details that he believes go a long way toward proving Trump's criminal intent.
Proving intent is notoriously one of the most difficult tasks any prosecutor has, but Saletan argues that there are enough connected dots to make a solid case.
Among other things, Saletan argues that the indictment alleges Trump began preparing to claim fraud days before any votes were even counted, as he allegedly "discussed a draft speech with unindicted co-conspirator... that falsely declared victory and falsely claimed voter fraud."
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This lines up with a claim made by Trump ally Steve Bannon, who said in late October of 2020 that Trump planned to declare victory regardless of what the vote totals said on the night of the election.
The indictment also notes that Trump made knowingly false claims about his purported "perfect" phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger when he said that Raffensperger refused to provide explanations to his bogus conspiracy theories about voter fraud in the Peach State.
Additionally, writes Saletan, the indictment states testimony claiming that Trump pressured officials at his own Department of Justice to issue a statement declaring the 2020 election fraudulent while showing a complete disregard for whether such a statement would be based on fact.
"Just say that the election was corrupt, and leave the rest to me and the Republican congressmen," Trump argued.
Saletan also points to multiple instances in the indictment that could prove Trump's allies, such as attorneys John Eastman and Rudy Giuliani, had corrupt intent.