Likelihood of DOJ proving Trump's guilt is 'very high' now that he's been 'caught red-handed': legal expert
Speaking with MDSNBC host Ali Velshi on Saturday, former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade suggested that the Department of Justice's case against Donald Trump for obstruction is growing by the day, making it much more likely investigators will be able to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Reacting to reports that the former president is suspected of still holding onto sensitive government documents that the DOJ is trying to get back, the attorney said the former president is increasing his legal peril with each passing day.
"Why is he more worried about this than he seems to be about the other things that he is embroiled in?" host Velshi prompted about the documents believed to contain sensitive intel information.
"This one seems to be one that is really difficult to get out from under because he's caught red-handed," McQuade replied. "In so many of these other cases, proof of a crime requires knowledge and intent. I think Donald Trump is savvy enough not to use email and so it could be very difficult to prove that level of knowledge and intent."
"With regard to these documents, just having them gets you about 90 percent of the way there," she elaborated.
"The other piece of it is just showing that he knew they were there," she continued. "I think his own admissions have demonstrated that he did know they were there and there are statements about 'I declassified them,' 'the FBI planted them,' I think has acknowledged his knowledge that he had them there."
"I think the likelihood of being able to prove that he is guilty is very high," she continued. "The penalties for this, one of the charges is obstruction of justice, is 20 years in prison. So the consequences are also very high here. It is easier to get your arms around as the proof is very simple. He had these documents and willfully retained them and that is illegal and I think, for good reason, he is very concerned about being charged and convicted of a crime here."
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