Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner revealed on Sunday that President Donald Trump may have already given his former national security advisor "a defense" against a potential indictment.
The Trump administration is expected to unveil a slate of charges against former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton this week over allegedly mishandling classified information, according to multiple reports. Bolton would be the latest in a long line of political enemies Trump is seeking to prosecute.
Former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James have also been indicted by a grand jury. Comey faces two charges of obstruction of justice and lying to Congress. James has been accused of committing mortgage fraud. Both have denied the allegations against them.
The case against Bolton appears to be a little stronger than the Comey and James indictments, Kirschner argued. Even so, the Trump administration appears to have already undercut its efforts to prosecute Bolton.
"Prosecutors may have concluded—we're talking in a vacuum here because we haven't seen the evidence yet—may have concluded, 'No, we're not going to prosecute Bolton,' Kirschner said. "Then, when Trump says, 'Yes, you are, evidence be damned...You're prosecuting him,' that will still give John Bolton a vindictive prosecution defense."
"It may not be nearly as robust or compelling a vindictive prosecution defense as James Comey has or Leticia James has, but it will still be an available defense, particularly because the reporting is that federal prosecutors previously decided they were not going to charge him," he continued.