'I was too busy': Former White House lawyer mocks Trump's new defense in documents case
Former President Donald Trump told Fox host Sean Hannity that one of the barriers to complying with a subpoena was his pressing schedule fighting the 2020 election results.
"I had boxes I wanted to go through and get all my personal things out. I didn't want to hand that over yet. I was very busy, as you've seen," Trump said.
Neal Katyal, former acting solicitor general for President Barack Obama's White House, told MSNBC that "it's not an excuse that will ultimately fly in court."
"If it is in consultation with lawyers, Ari, it's not very good lawyers because the 'too busy to go through my classified documents that I stole' box defense, I don't think is one that's going to be recognized in the law," said Katyal. "I understand Donald Trump's sense of desperation at this point. It's got to be tough because that indictment, that 49-page indictment that dropped about ten days ago, is really, really detailed. And then, you know, as I think the beginning of your show so brilliantly did, it showed these clips you were playing, and they weren't from the DNC, the Democrats or a bunch of deep staters. It was from Donald Trump's own cabinet. It was Bill Barr saying he's toast, but you also had Defense Secretary Mark Esper and former National Security Adviser John Bolton those are the clips you showed."
Former Vice President Mike Pence has come out against the indictment. He is saying that Trump's stolen documents are no different than Joe Biden's documents found in his storage. He didn't include himself in that group, however.
He explained that the difference is clear for those who have read the indictment.
As Barr said, "The legal theory by which he gets to take battle plans and sensitive national security information as his personal papers is absurd. It's just as whacky as the legal doctrine they came up with for having the vice president unilaterally determine who won the election."
Katyal said that when he and Barr agree on something, then the case is likely a "slam dunk."
See the conversation in the video below or at the link here.
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