Donald Trump seemingly confessed to the major elements of the criminal allegations against him in the Mar-a-Lago documents case, leaving legal analyst Andrew Weissmann astonished.
The former president told SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly that the Presidential Records Act gave him the right to keep classified materials after leaving the White House and then refuse to comply with a Justice Department subpoena seeking their return, and Weissmann told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that gave prosecutors powerful evidence.
"The key there is it's on tape," said Weissmann, a former federal prosecutor who worked on special counsel Robert Mueller's team. "The government is in an incredible position because they have the defendant on tape confessing to the crime."
Weissmann said it was ludicrous to think a former chief executive would not understand that he must comply with subpoenas, but he said Trump's loose-lipped interviews were intended to rally his base as his attorneys try to stall the case.
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"This case isn't about the facts, it is spinning to his base to try this case in the court of public opinion," Weissmann said. "There just isn't a dispute here if you are passionate about the facts. I think the biggest challenge for the government is getting this particular case to trial, they're not being helped out by the Florida judge who has been very slow in making rulings and deciding things. That will be the challenge."
"I suspect they're putting all their effort on the Jan. 6 D.C. case, because the Florida case is something that, you know, it remains to be seen just exactly when that will go to trial," he added. "The case is overwhelming."
