All posts tagged "Jim Trusty"

Former President Donald Trump's ex-lawyer Jim Trusty attempted to defend his former client's actions in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case on CNN Thursday — a discussion that came shortly after Trump's latest bid to dismiss that case was denied — but was swiftly backed into a corner as anchor Brianna Keilar dismantled his arguments.

"[Special counsel] Jack Smith says this theory [that he could keep the documents] came out, not from the lawyer, but from the head of Judicial Watch, which is a right-wing activist group," said Keilar. "If it was something that Trump really believed or that his legal team really believed — because one of his employees said to Judicial Watch, they did not believe that this was correct analysis —why wouldn't Trump have put it out there?"

"See, I don't accept the paradigm, I guess is the problem," said Trusty. "What Jack Smith wants this court to believe is that if you're a former president, you have to announce for all time to everyone on the day you leave office, these are the documents that I possess. I'm deeming these ones personal and these other ones I'll talk to Archives about turning over as presidential. That's just a false narrative. The false models, classified documents, you do actually have to do that though well, not under the Presidential Records Act to executive order that's accepted and it's—"...

While the president stumps around that he's untouchable and his lawyers even say before judges that he could order the assassination political opponents with impunity — his former attorney isn't entirely convinced.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins sparred with Jim Trusty on this point on Thursday, pushing back on his immunity-lite argument that deviates from one put forth by the ex-president's team.

She pointed out that the response from the Supreme Court intrinsically notes that they don't "buy the broad immunity claim right off the bat."...