(2) an unprompted statement in which the defendant remarked, in a private moment, that CC3 claims were "crazy" (supra p. 44).
Regarding the pre-election conversations, P7 has testified that COVID's expected effect on the election, and in particular the anticipated phenomenon that the defendant would take an early lead in some states based on the election day vote that would dissipate as mail-in ballots were counted, was discussed among Campaign personnel and dual-hat White House staffers who simultaneously volunteered for the Campaign.[1] In that context, the defendant told P7 and others words to the effect of, "We'll just declare victory.'[2] Regarding the defendant's statement about CC3 , P7 will testify about a November 20 phone call in which the defendant mocked and laughed at CC3 and called her allegations—that he adopted and amplified—"crazy."[3]
In all of these interactions, the defendant was interacting as a candidate with P7 not as President. With respect to his pre-election comments about declaring victory, the context of the conversations indicates that the defendant was responding in real time to information that Campaign staff provided him on private matters. Similarly, the November 20 conversation among the defendant, P7 and P45 regarding CC3 was also a Campaign conversation. P7 and P45 two staffers who volunteered for the Campaign while working in the White House, were informally discussing with the defendant developments in his Campaign—namely that one of his private attorneys had been a source of public embarrassment. The defendant then dialed his private attorney, CC3 and made the comment about her claims with her on the muted phone line. The defendant was not seeking advice from White House staffers; he was making fun of his private attorney in the presence of Campaign volunteers.
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