WASHINGTON, Sept 17 (Reuters) – Former U.S. President Donald Trump said he dismissed the views of his own lawyers in continuing to challenge his 2020 defeat because he did not respect them, saying in an interview aired on Sunday that he had made up his own mind that the election had been “rigged” – a false claim that he continues to make.
“It was my decision,” Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press” program, that the election was “rigged” against him, adding that he relied heavily upon his own “instincts” in coming to that conclusion.
Asked why he dismissed the views of lawyers in the White House and his campaign that he had lost the election, Trump responded: “Because I didn’t respect them.”
Trump singled out former U.S. Attorney General William Barr, who told him that he had lost the election, as one of the lawyers whose advice he did not follow.
His comments on Sunday could undermine one of his possible legal defenses – that he relied on the advice of his lawyers in continuing to challenge his defeat.