Republican operatives working on rival Republican presidential campaigns are telling NBC News that they believe former President Donald Trump is in serious legal jeopardy, even though the candidates they're backing aren't yet willing to say so publicly.
One operative who is described by NBC News as "in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ orbit," predicted it would be extremely difficult for Trump to overcome this particular scandal given the plethora of evidence special counsel Jack Smith has lined up against him.
"The man is going to prison," the operative explained. "It’s happening. So at this point, where we are is ‘Who’s going to be the nominee?’ … Donald Trump broke the law, and frankly, I’m not a never-Trumper. I’m really not. But this is too much."
The operative added that "if you were to get George Washington, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson and sit them down and explain to them what’s happening... they would disagree with what Donald Trump was doing and would agree that he should be prosecuted."
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Another aide to a rival presidential campaign, meanwhile, told NBC News that donors to rival campaigns are piling pressure on candidates to be more aggressive in going after the former president.
However, the operative said that "none of them are taking that advice" for fear of angering Republican primary voters.
