'Threads the needle': Ex-Trump lawyer praises Jack Smith's 'crisply worded' re-indictment

A former lawyer for Donald Trump would be "scratching his head" if the MAGA leader's current lawyers were surprised by Jack Smith's trimmed-down superseding indictment Tuesday against the former president.

Ty Cobb spoke with Erin Burnett on CNN's "OutFront" on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the case, telling the anchor he believes the slimmed-down case makes it clear that Trump's acts were personal, rather than official acts.

"This is a very forceful document," he said. "It's pared down. Every sentence is crisply worded. It's a tight narrative. You can't read this and not understand the crimes that Trump actually committed."

"I think it does," said Cobb, noting that some of Smith's editing was "spot on" that emphasized the "private nature of many of these acts."

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He pointed to the private funding of a speech before the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, as well as Mike Pence's "ceremonial role" in certifying the election and the non-governmental roles of the co-conspirators who were also acting in a "private capacity."

"I think this threads the needle. If I'm Trump's lawyers and I'm surprised I'm scratching my head at that because this was the reasonable approach to take," he said.

Cobb said it made more sense to put forth a "forceful case like this" rather than go through a slew of hearings before Judge Tanya Chutkin and have her edit the indictment.

When asked if the case would proceed quickly or slowly, Cobb said it would likely proceed slowly. Chutkin will still have a hearing on the whittled-down indictment, he noted.

To boot, Cobb believes an appeal is still available, though the Supreme Court may not take it.

"This hasn't been on course to go before the election for months," he said. "That always was never going to happen."

Cobb said that while the 78-year-old Trump won't likely receive a 55-year sentence, he could see six to nine "once convicted."

Even so, Cobb doubted that Trump would take the case seriously until the "final gavel" came down.

Watch the clip below or at this link.