Trump made Jack Smith's case before Judge Chutkan 'a lot easier' after NBC interview admission: legal expert

Appearing on MSNBC on Sunday afternoon with host Jen Psaki, a positively giddy Neal Katyal applauded the job new "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker did in her interview with Donald Trump, claiming she got him to make a confession that should make special counsel Jack Smith very pleased.

According to the former solicitor general, Welker used just enough flattery to lure the former president into admitting that it was his decision alone to try and overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

In a clip shown by Psaki, Welker asked, "The most senior lawyers in your own administration and in your campaign told you that after you lost more than 60 legal challenges that it was over. Why did you ignore them and decide to listen to a new outside group of attorneys?”

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After Trump admitted he "didn't respect them," he later added, "You know who I listen to? Myself. I saw what happened, I watched that election, and I thought the election was over at 10 o’clock in the evening. My instincts are a big part of it. That’s been the thing that’s gotten me to where I am -- my instincts."

Welker pressed, "Just to be clear, were you listening to your lawyers’ advice, or were you listening to your own instincts?” to which the former president replied, "Oh, sure. It was my decision. I listened to some people. Some people said that."

After watching the clip, a smiling Psaki commented, "So, this is interesting, because they've been using this advice of counsel arguments. So, what did you think about that exchange?"

An equally smiling Katyal replied, "So, Jen, anyone who is any critic of Kristen Welker on 'Meet The Press' who's like, 'Oh, she's not making news,' she just made huge news this morning."

"Because Donald Trump's defense to January 6th has been one basic thing, which is, I relied on the advice of my lawyers. I didn't have bad criminal intent. It is my lawyers who were telling me to do this," he explained. "And she got him through a masterful interviewing, and playing to his ego, to go, ''Oh no, I did it all myself.'"

"And if you're Jack Smith this morning, you're going, 'Thank you, that's what I always thought, and yes, you hired these kind of cockamamie crazy lawyers, but at the end of the day, this was you, through and through,'" he added. "This demonstrates his culpability right there and then and I think makes this case that Judge [Tanya] Chutkan has going to trial on March 4th a lot easier."

Watch below or at the link.

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