Trump Loses Bid To Dismiss Classified Documents Case

Interview

Date: April 4, 2024

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Well, I want to step back for a second. So, what she did today is to say that the Presidential Records Act can't lead to the dismissal of all charges, right? And that, to some degree, is an easy decision to have made. You can't say, I'm leaving with the nuclear plan of attack because I want to, because I've just sort of decided to.

So, she said it's not going to be the basis to dismiss, but she's keeping it in play for the trial. So, either Trump would be able to say or at least, for now, she's keeping it in play, these were personal records, even though I never told anyone in the White House that they were personal, even though they - on account, on their face, be personal. She's going to keep that in play as a trial - at the trial, rather.

It makes the potential for the trial to be chaotic and dangerous for the special prosecutor. Chaotic because Trump is going to get there screaming that somehow these were things - these are personal records or that he was - these are selective prosecution all sorts of things that he's claiming in these motions.

And dangerous for the special prosecutor because she'll be putting her figure on the scale, putting her thumb on the scale ...

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

... and inviting the jury to decide things that they shouldn't.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Because it doesn't. In other words, you can't make - you can't bring defenses that are based on air. You can't bring defenses that have absolutely no grounding in the law, right? I mean, I killed somebody - and I had a right to kill that someone because I'm the Messiah. I mean, there's a limit. And most judges will basically cabin what they can say.

This offers the possibility that this trial is going to be wide open and she's going to not control it at all.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Well, of course, it's the only judge he doesn't attack. But step back for a moment, the way he has attacked other judges is not in terms of their particular decisions. They didn't rule on this, they didn't rule on that.

It is sort of ad hominem attacks against the judges before they have even opened their mouth, they're Trump haters. With Judge Cannon, he's basically not saying anything and he's attacking Jack Smith as deranged.

What - the notion that human beings are even spending time on this is extraordinary. I mean, what he's saying makes absolutely no sense. The - certainly, Jack Smith's latest filing was much more pointed. There's no basis whatsoever to the Presidential Records Act, he's saying, and make a decision so that we can appeal.

And that was - it was a pointed filing much less pointed than I've seen in my career as a judge. But that's what he needs to do because otherwise, really, this trial, if and when it takes place, will be chaos. Just chaos.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT


Source
arrow_upward