Ex-Mueller prosecutor predicts immediate 'clash' between Trump and Georgia judge that could see ex-president jailed
August 14, 2023
Andrew Weissmann, a former senior prosecutor for special counsel Robert Mueller, predicts an early "clash" between Donald Trump and his judge if he's indicted in Georgia on election interference charges.
A grand jury in Fulton County is meeting on Monday and Tuesday, and indictments are expected to be handed down imminently. As reporters wait, the former president spent much of Monday ranting on his personal social media site, attacking witnesses and District Attorney Fani Willis.
This won't fly with whichever judge gets assigned the case, Weissmann suggested.
Admitting it "may sound a little out of left field," Weissmann explained that bail for Trump might be a problem.
"Now we have seen the former president get bail in Manhattan, in Florida, and in D.C.," he explained. "We have also seen the former president continue to make statements that, at least arguably, are obstruction of justice or intimidating witnesses. Why is that important? Because in Georgia, the statute that may apply here depending on what is charged is one where the presumption is one that the defendant has the burden of rebutting."
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Simplified, it means that the defendant, Trump, must demonstrate "that he will not commit crimes and is not a risk of flight."
In Georgia, it has to be demonstrated that, "The defendant poses no risk of intimidating witnesses or otherwise obstructing the administration of justice." Georgia's laws are different from the federal laws as well as New York's and Florida's, which is why things could be unusual this time around, Weissmann explained.
Donald Trump has consistently shown that he will attack witnesses, lawyers, investigators and judges, while also threatening "retribution," regardless of the instructions from the court. So, his lawyers will argue that he will stop, but there is considerable evidence to the contrary, even after similar warnings from judges. That could give the judge license not to grant Trump bail.
"To me, that is going to be for a judge who is going to treat Donald Trump or anyone else like any other defendant, that could be a problem," Weissmann said. "Because just today, we saw a continuation of attacks on the D.C. federal judge on Truth Social saying that Geoff Duncan, the former [Georgia] lieutenant governor, should not comply with the grand jury subpoena in Georgia. You can't tell a witness not to comply with a grand jury subpoena unless there is some legal ability to do that. But that is not what the former president did. So, it will be interesting to see how the judge deals with bail as we go forward."
MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace stepped in to ask if he believes there will be a "clash as early as right away?"
"Yes, absolutely," he agreed. "Now, I know a lot of people, including myself, were thinking, how could somebody who is running for president be thrown in jail pending trial? But remember, you could run for president without intimidating witnesses. So, if you make the choice to intimidate witnesses — I know this is incredible that we're having this conversation."
See the full discussion in the video below or at the link here.
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