Former prosecutor provides roadmap for proving Trump's 'criminal state of mind' in election tampering
During an appearance on MSNBC's "The Katie Phang Show," former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner claimed he expects at least two more Donald Trump indictments to be forthcoming and slapped aside any concerns prosecutors will have trouble proving the former president's "criminal intent" when they go to trial.
Speaking with this host about the Fulton County grand jury investigation into tampering with the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia and the DOJ's investigation into Trump's incitement of the Jan 6 mob, the legal expert claimed the path to indicting Trump is clear-cut.
"Glenn, other charges include conspiracy to defraud the United States, I mean these are serious charges," host Phang prompted. "Corruptly obstructing an official proceeding, and then this civil rights section we just talked about. What are some possible defenses that Donald Trump could raise, vis-à-vis these particular charges?"
"Katie, I don't often like to go where I'm about to go, because people are forever saying that it's so hard to prove Donald Trump's corrupt intent, his criminal state of mind, his guilty mens rea, I do not agree with that," he replied.
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"I proved corrupt intent for 30 years in courtrooms, both military and civilian with far less evidence that has been amassed against Donald Trump," he continued. "I think proving Donald Trump's corrupt intent is like proving that fish swim and birds fly. But yes, you do have to prove somebody's state of mind and judges will instruct juries every day: 'Ladies and gentlemen, there is no way for you to look into the human mind of the defendants and glean what his intent was.' That is why you are allowed to infer criminal intent from circumstantial evidence, from statements a defendant made."
"And there is one more key statement," he added, "A statement that to me has always proved Donald Trump's corrupt intent conclusively. When his DOJ officials and other executive branch agency officials said 'Mister president, there is no fraud, undermining the election's results.'"
'That includes [Trump Attorney General] Bill Barr for example," host Phang interjected.
"Bill Barr and Richard Donoghue who were taking contemporaneous notes of what Donald Trump was saying," Kirschner agreed. "What did he say? 'I don't care if there is no fraud. Just say there was and leave the rest to me and my Republican allies in Congress.' Corrupt intent proved."
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