Former President Donald Trump says he consulted with various lawyers, but it was his decision to challenge the 2020 election results.
Mr. Trump, speaking Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” emphasized his acumen and leadership in challenging the results as he repeated claims the contest was “rigged against him.”
“It was my decision. But I listened to some people,” Mr. Trump said in a sit-down interview with Kristen Welker.
Mr. Trump faces indictments in federal court and Georgia accusing him of conspiring with others, including a series of lawyers, to overturn the 2020 election results in the lead-up to the violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He has pleaded not guilty and denies the charges.
A federal indictment from special counsel Jack Smith emphasizes Mr. Trump’s role and state of mind in the post-election period, saying he waged a conspiracy against the U.S. by knowing his election claims were false but pushing them anyway in an attempt to change the results.
The president said he listened to outside counsel but also relied on his own belief the election was taken from him.
“You know who I listen to? Myself. I saw what happened. I watched that election, and I thought the election was over at 10 o’clock in the evening,” he told NBC.
“My instincts are a big part of it,” he said. “That’s been the thing that’s gotten me to where I am, my instincts. But I also listen to people. There are many lawyers.”
Mr. Trump hired a coterie of lawyers to help him challenge the 2020 results. Some Republicans questioned whether they were pushing crackpot theories, and some of the attorneys were indicted alongside Mr. Trump in Georgia.
The ex-president said he couldn’t rely on the lawyers within his administration who had lost legal challenges and so he consulted new lawyers.
“They turn out to be RINOs, or they turn out to be not so good. In many cases, I didn’t respect them. But I did respect others. I respected many others that said the election was rigged,” he said. “Look, we have many people, and it’s my choice — I happen to, I happen to know that the election was rigged. OK?”
In the interview, Mr. Trump defended his call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which he pressed officials to “find” enough votes for his side, and repeated his belief he won in 2020.
“I say I won the election,” he said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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