I think he’s just a plain old liar, but that’s just me
There is a lot of talk about the legal concept of Willful Blindness as it applies to Donald Trump. Personally, I think the Big Lie and attempted coup and he knew exactly what he was doing. Trump knows he can make his cult members believe anything and he thought if he could persuade them he actually won they would exert enough pressure (one way or another) on officials to overturn the election. He knew he lost he just thought he could stage a coup and take power anyway.
However, from a legal standpoint, the concept of willful blindness to the facts is useful if anyone ever wants to hold him accountable for his crimes. Here’s a short primer on how it’s used.
The doctrine of willful blindness is a concept in criminal law—generally in the white-collar context—that serves as a substitute for an otherwise necessary mens rea element, such as knowledge. That is, where it exists, it imputes (or supports an inference of) knowledge to the defendant or serves as a substitute for actual knowledge. It is, in effect, constructive knowledge.
Willful blindness is generally defined as an attempt to avoid liability for a wrongful act by intentionally failing to make reasonable inquiry when faced with the suspicion or awareness of the high likelihood of wrongdoing. It is a deliberate attempt to keep one’s “head in the sand” when faced with information or facts that create a suspicion or awareness that there is a likelihood of wrongdoing.
The Supreme Court observed in Global-Tech Appliances, Inc. v. SEB S.A., that “[t]he traditional rationale for th[e] doctrine is that defendants who behave in [a willfully ignorant] manner are just as culpable as those who have actual knowledge.” The Ninth Circuit, in a seminal willful blindness case, explained that “[t]he substantive justification for the rule is that deliberate ignorance and positive knowledge are equally culpable.”
Use of the doctrine in the criminal justice system is controversial and expands the scope of criminal liability. Many have questioned the underlying normative justification for the the so-called “equal culpability thesis.” Regardless, it has been endorsed by the Supreme Court and some version of the doctrine has been employed by all of the federal courts of appeal to some degree.
How is Willful Blindness Established?
Willful blindness is established where a defendant purposefully avoided knowledge of illegal activities despite being aware of the high possibility of illegal conduct. Where it applies, the doctrine provides that an individual who deliberately ensures that they do not learn the specifics of wrongful acts, despite suspecting otherwise, is as culpable as an individual who is fully aware of the illegal activity.
A finding of willful blindness may establish the mental culpability (the “mens rea” element) required to convict a defendant of a crime. Establishing willful blindness in effect negates the defense that the defendant lacked the required intent to commit the crime. Additionally, willful blindness negates the defense that the defendant was unaware that they were committing the crime.
It’s hard to see how Trump wasn’t at least guilty of this.