Trevor Potter and Mark Gaber in WaPo:
Although a criminal conviction does require proof of intent — proof Trump knew he was asking for nonexistent votes to be counted in his favor — a person cannot avoid criminal liability by simply deciding to believe fantasy over fact. For example, if a person becomes convinced that she owns her neighbor’s car and is shown the title certificate proving otherwise, she cannot steal the car and escape conviction by feigning she truly believed fiction over fact — at least, not without mounting an insanity defense.
The proof required for a conviction here would be that Trump was made aware of the facts — that his voter fraud allegations in Georgia (and elsewhere) are false, and he nevertheless sought the announcement of false election results in his favor. Georgia has gone through two full recounts, including a hand recount verifying machine ballots, plus an in-depth review of signature matching demanded by Republican officials. After all of this, Biden’s victory in Georgia was certified by the Republican governor elected with Trump’s help. Repeatedly on the call, the Republican secretary of state and his legal counsel systematically knocked down one conspiracy theory after the next, explaining the Georgia state police and other government investigators and multiple court proceedings had found them meritless. Yet despite being told these facts, the president then repeated, “So what are we going to do here, folks? I only need 11,000 votes … give me a break.”
Trump can’t escape criminal culpability now simply with a “head in the sand” defense. He can’t dodge an investigation by Georgia prosecutors or by the Justice Department by feigning ignorance. It is a criminal violation of federal law to attempt to deprive voters of a fair and impartial election by procuring fictitious ballots. It is a criminal violation of Georgia law to solicit another person to engage in election fraud. The president’s demands in the hour-long call on Saturday seem to fit squarely within the conduct described by these laws.