Trump says it was his decision to persist with 2020 election challenges

Former US 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.

Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination to take on Democratic President Joe Biden in the 2024 election, is now facing four concurrent criminal prosecutions, including two involving his attempts to overturn his 2020 loss to Biden.

"It was my decision," Trump told NBC's "Meet the Press" programme, that the election was "rigged" against him, adding that he relied heavily upon his own "instincts" in coming to that conclusion.

Trump has continued to make false claims that the election was stolen from him through widespread voting fraud.

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."

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His comments on Sunday could undermine one of his possible legal defences — that he relied on the advice of his lawyers in continuing to challenge his defeat. US courts threw out dozens of legal challenges from Trump's campaign and allies following the November 2020 election.