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December 31, 2012, 6:57 PM ET
A new recording that shows Donald Trump discussing a classified document could be the final nail that results in criminal charges, according to one legal expert, and there could be tremendous pressure to prosecute him before the 2024 election.
Special counsel Jack Smith's team has an audio recording of the former president from July 2021 discussing a classified document that outlined a possible attack on Iran that he took from the White House, and he showed awareness that he no longer had the authority to declassify it, and MSNBC legal analyst Andrew Weissmann said the case against Trump was "overwhelming."
"It's always fraught to give predictions, but I would think that the Department of Justice and Jack Smith are going to be very concerned about getting information into the hands of the public and trying to have a trial before there is an election," said Weissman, a former federal prosecutor who worked under special counsel Robert Mueller. "Not for the sake of speed but for the sake of the electorate knowing what the proof is, so they can factor that in in deciding who to vote for. That's a long way of saying that I think they'll feel a lot of internal pressure to act very quickly."
READ MORE: New Trump evidence is almost as good as 'a guilty plea': Former House GOP Intel Chair
"There is, I think from a procedural perspective, we've heard that Donald Trump has sent this letter to the attorney general, so he can appeal to the attorney general, who has the power to sort of do a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on any potential indictment," Weissman continued. "I find it highly unlikely that the attorney general would reject a potential indictment proposal from Jack Smith. The only question there is how long that appeal process would in the department take. Then I actually -- if I guess, I'd say it'll probably be the next couple weeks that you will see some sort of charge on Mar-a-Lago. I think Jan. 6 may take a little longer because it is a much more complicated case."
"I agree with you Mar-a-Lago, at this point, the proof seems overwhelming and relatively clear cut," he added.
Watch the video below or at this link.
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Former Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers on Thursday said that new evidence on former President Donald Trump's handling of classified documents puts him in real legal jeopardy.
Speaking to CNN, Rogers broke down the significance of reports that prosecutors have an audio recording of the former president boasting that he retained a classified document about a potential attack on Iran after he left the White House.
Rogers said that this particular piece of evidence, if accurate, would be "very significant" in any criminal proceeding.
"It's the cavalier nature of which he... had the document, which is also a crime if he did... and secondly, what is causing the information in that document to be disclosed to people who are not authorized to hear it," he said. "And the very nature and sensitivity of the topic that was in that particular document as described is very concerning."
RELATED: 'That's going to be his undoing': Legal expert tells CNN that Trump has cornered himself
He then speculated how prosecutors could potentially use this evidence against the former president.
"It showed his intent," he said. "As an old FBI guy, I can tell you: One thing about having a tape with your voice on it, the only better piece of evidence is a guilty plea... It is really significant."
Watch the video below or at this link.
New Trump evidence is almost as good as 'a guilty plea': Former House GOP Intel Chair www.youtube.com
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough believes Donald Trump is sure to be indicted in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, and he doesn't see how that will help him get re-elected.
The ex-president can be heard on a July 2021 recording admitting that he kept a classified document after leaving the White House and suggesting that he wanted to share the material, but knew he could not lawfully do so, and the "Morning Joe" host said that could be fatal to his bid to return to the White House.
"There's some hardcore supporters who will say it doesn't matter that Donald Trump is a liar, it doesn't matter that he stole classified documents, it doesn't matter that he obstructed justice, it doesn't matter that he broke the law," Scarborough said. "It doesn't matter that he kept lying and that he moved documents the day before they were coming down to get the documents, it doesn't matter that he got caught on tape lying. They'll say that, but when you go a little below the surface with them, they go, 'I'm so exhausted by this guy,' right?"
"When they aren't having to admit that they voted for him twice and that they keep defending him, you scratch below the surface -- I hear it time and time again, we both do -- they're so exhausted by him," Scarborough said.
READ MORE: 'That's going to be his undoing': Legal expert tells CNN that Trump has cornered himself
Trump's hardcore base might stick with him, Scarborough said, and that might be enough to win the Republican Party nomination, but he said an indictment on possible espionage charges would be fatal in a general election.
"I think the indictment that's sure to come now from the Justice Department is really going to hurt Donald Trump in the suburbs of Atlanta, Philly, Detroit, Milwaukee -- you name it, Maricopa County, where all of these swing voters are that decide elections," he said. "Again, Trump people say, it's fine, it's fine. They won't come out and say it, but they like that he's a liar. They like that he lies to the FBI, they like that he lies to the DOJ, they like that he lies to everybody because they think, somehow, in some perverse, twisted logic, they think, somehow, that's sticking it to the libs, by being a liar constantly -- living your entire life being a lie in public service. That's what they think."
"The problem is, and we're going to get to the debt ceiling in a minute, I don't think that's where most of America is," he added. "I think most of America actually, you know, I think there are a lot of voters who decide elections who are going to hear this and it is going to push them even further away from Donald Trump."
Watch the video below or at this link.
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