A former prosecutor and civil rights attorney shredded President Donald Trump's Department of Justice's crusade against a prominent nonprofit during a new podcast episode on Monday.
Melba Pearson, host of "The Breakdown" on Legal AF, said during a new episode that the indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center for wire and bank fraud was "thin on facts." She also noted several areas where the 11-count indictment failed to adequately describe the SPLC's criminal conduct.
"So basically, they're saying the SPLC was trying to help these groups, in other words, but that's not backed up by evidence," Pearson said. "This is just spouting out at the mouth, and it's a political statement. It's not a legal statement, and that's not what the actual fraud charges allege."
Last week, the Trump DOJ secured an indictment against the SPLC, alleging that the nonprofit had committed bank and wire fraud by setting up financial sting operations against white supremacist extremist groups without telling their donors. However, Pearson said the indictment has little shot of landing a punch in the courtroom because of the scant details it contains.
"So Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, is basically trying this case at a press conference behind a podium, not actually in court, because the argument just doesn't make sense."