Donald Trump's criminal intent in the classified documents investigation won't be difficult to prove if Jack Smith does have a copy of the audio in which the former president admits to possessing military plans and discussing them with others.
If special counsel Smith has the audio, which purportedly includes an admission that he knew he couldn't just instantly declassify documents and was first reported by CNN, that could mean a lot, according to former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner. Kirschner.
Appearing on MSNBC on Friday night, Kirschner was asked by host Ali Velshi if the audio recording actually provides help in the area of criminal intent. Kirschner said it's important to remember that "everything you say is admissible in the court of public opinion" but not in a court of law.
"Guess what? Prosecutors get to introduce at a trial any statement they want that Donald Trump made," he said. "Because under the rules of evidence, it is a statement of a party opponent. They will surgically introducing statements."
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The same doesn't go for Trump's side, Kirschner added.
"Donald Trump's lawyers are prohibited, under the rules of evidence, from introducing any of Donald's out of court statements to prove the truth of the matter asserted," he said. "So when we see these statements, conflicting statements from Donald Trump, prosecutors will exploit them by presenting the jury one statement where Donald Trump said I declassified everything with my mind, or automatically when I took them with me."
