Special Counsel Filings Reveal Trump's Alleged Actions Before Jan. 6 Capitol Attack

Unsealed filings from Special Counsel Jack Smith reveal previously unknown accounts from close aides to former President Donald Trump in the waning days of his presidency. The filings — unsealed Wednesday by Judge Tanya Chutkan — come after the Supreme Court forced Smith to drop key elements of the criminal case he had built against Trump.

In the filings, Special Counsel Smith describes how the former president and his allies allegedly planned to challenge the 2020 election results in advance and pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject Electoral College votes.

“If Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election,” Trump told his supporters at the Ellipse shortly before the certification process was set to begin.

According to the brief, Pence warned Trump at least nine times after the election to give up his fight to prevent certification, saying he could run again in the next cycle. Trump allegedly replied, “2024 is so far off”

When Trump was warned Pence's life was in danger during the attack that ensued at the Capitol on Jan. 6, Trump allegedly responded, “So what?”

“These are all extremely important pieces of information,” CBS News Legal Analyst Rebecca Roiphe said in an interview, “because they go to the president’s — the former president's — knowledge and his intent.”

The 165-page filing also identifies several private individuals prosecutors allege worked with Trump.

The new information is part of the special counsel's effort to reshape his case following the Supreme Court's landmark ruling over the summer allowing presidential immunity for certain official acts.

“The brief attempts to outline all of the evidence the prosecutor has,” said former federal prosecutor Scott Fredericksen, “to show that the actions of the former president were in his capacity as a private candidate for president, not in his capacity as president.”

Legal analysts say the case won't go to trial before election day and will likely be shut down if Trump is elected.

The Trump campaign has called the filing “falsehood-ridden” and “unconstitutional.” Trump himself, on his social media platform, said it's pure election interference.