Former President Donald Trump has taken to openly embracing people who violently stormed the Capitol on his behalf, even going so far as to record a song with some of the jailed rioters.
However, the Associated Press reports that this could cost the former president in the courtroom.
Specifically, the AP writes that special counsel Jack Smith's team "has signaled it will make the case that Trump is responsible for the chaos that unfolded, and point to Trump’s continued support of the Jan. 6 defendants to help establish his criminal intent."
Because of this, reports the AP, Trump's own lawyers have been trying to distance their client from the rioters by describing them as "independent actors at the Capitol."
Trump's lawyers are particularly concerned about Smith's lawyers presenting "ghoulish images of the violence" that erupted after Trump encouraged his supporters to go to the Capitol on January 6th, 2021.
This task is made much more difficult when Trump goes on the campaign trail and pays tribute to the rioters, going so far at one rally to refer to them as "hostages, not prisoners."
Trump has also vowed to pardon many of the rioters should he win another term in office, despite the fact that many of them were found guilty of a range of offenses including assaulting police officers and committing a seditious conspiracy.
