'Game over' for Trump: Mueller prosecutor says all that is left is for jury to do is follow the law
The two legal analysts that started off Lawrence O'Donnell's Monday night show agreed that the tape of Donald Trump showing classified documents to people is all that is needed to sink him legally.
Andrew Weissmann, the former senior prosecutor for Robert Mueller, said that a key point to remember is that this tape has been in the hands of the Justice Department and possibly even Donald Trump for quite a while. It means Trump knew what was heard and lied in all of the interviews he's given where he tried to claim the documents weren't classified.
"And knowing Jack Smith, they have interviewed everybody other than the former president who was in that room," he explained. So, they have all the information about the tape recording, what happened in that room, and everyone's version about what they recall. So, you don't put something like this in a charging instrument unless you have this completely locked down. That's just how anybody, and certainly how Jack Smith, operates."
But the hard and fast truth, he said, is that the tape is serious, "and this is game over if you are following the facts and the law. He's charged with having classified information and knowing that he had classified information. He's not even charged with dissemination, that is, showing it to somebody. But even that could be proved. And the tape recording is absolutely clear. This is a question now, of simply, will the government get a trial before the general election? Will at jury actually follow the law and the facts, and will the electorate follow the facts and care?"
Weissmann lamented that it isn't about the facts anymore but whether people are willing to follow the facts and the law.
Bradley Moss keyed in on hearing the laughter in the tape, which, he said, goes to the complete lack of seriousness with which they regarded national security. Amid joking about Hillary Clinton having classified documents and falsely claiming she showed classified information, Trump confesses to having classified documents and then shows them to others.
"That is quite possibly the most offensive part of all of this. I hear laughter. Hey, look what I've got! This document that the military gave to me, that is still classified, probably at least top secret. Look at how cool this is. And let's joke about, you know, Hillary Clinton sending emails to Anthony Weiner. And by the way, bring me a couple of cokes," Moss said.
"I hear recklessness. I hear laughter," a disgusted Moss said. "And for anyone who's ever held a security clearance, for anyone who's ever sat in a SCIF having to read through documents, for anyone who's ever been subject to any kind of investigation or how they handled classified information, they probably feel what I feel right now: anger, and being completely insulted by how this man handled it, and how the staffers around him thought it was funny. This is not funny. These are classified documents. This is national defense information. It is not a joke."
See the video below or at the link here.
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