One Trump adviser said the ex-President is seeking what he sees as “accountability” for Republican House members who turned “against the people.” The adviser acknowledged that was a twisted view of reality as Trump was the one who was actively attempting to overturn the will of the voters.

A major focus of the upcoming trial will be the speech Trump gave on the morning of January 6 on the Ellipse just south of the White House at a “Stop the Steal” rally meant to protest Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 election. That rally was followed by thousands of Trump supporters storming the US Capitol in an insurrection that killed five people, including one Capitol Police officer.

Former Trump aides recall the then-President having enjoyed the spectacle created by the riot at the Capitol. Trump was “loving watching the Capitol mob,” one former senior White House official said.