As new questions swirled this past week about former President Donald Trump’s potential criminal exposure for seeking to overturn the 2020 election, Trump issued a rambling 12-page statement.

It contained his usual mix of outlandish claims, hyperbole and outright falsehoods, but also something that Trump allies and legal experts said was notable and different: the beginnings of a legal defense.

On nearly every page, Trump gave explanations for why he was convinced that the 2020 election had been stolen from him and why he was well within his rights to challenge the results by any means available.