Trump's espionage charge 'neutralizes' his 'declassification' defense plan: Legal expert
Appearing on MSNBC just hours after it was reported that Donald Trump is on the receiving end of seven federal indictments related to special counsel Jack Smith's investigations, former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade explained that the espionage charge that is reportedly included will cripple a key Trump lawyer defense strategy.
Speaking with MSNBC's Jonathan Lemire on "Way Too Early," McQuade stated that, based on what she has heard about the still-sealed indictments, the inclusion of a charge tied to the Espionage Act takes Trump claim that the documents in question were declassified by him off the table.
"We know his explanations and justifications for having classified documents have changed quite a bit including the idea he just declassified them just by thinking about them," Lemire prompted. "It also seems his defense is trotting out a strategy of prosecutorial misconduct noting this is a charge brought by the Department of Justice that was underneath the president of the United States, Joe Biden, who is Donald Trump's top rival for the White House next year. Walk us through the assessment of potential defenses, and do you think it could work?"
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"I don't think either of these defenses are going to work," the former prosecutor replied. "They might sound good in the court of public opinion, and I imagine Trump will hammer them as he has, but as [MSNBC legal analyst] Danny Cevallos just said, this idea Trump declassified the documents is really off the table if the charge is the Espionage Act because there's no requirement under the Espionage Act that the documents be classified."
"They must merely pertain to the national defense," she elaborated. "If they're talking about military capabilities or attacks on Iran or whatever they are, that would qualify. So I think this completely neutralizes that defense."
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