During an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance reacted to former Donald Trump lawyer Timothy Parlatore coming clean about why he recently quit and says there appears to be a "turf war" among members of the former president's legal team that does not bode well for their client.
Over the weekend, Paraltore admitted that he left over disagreements and legal infighting and pointed the finger at longtime Trump associate Boris Epshteyn for slapping aside legal strategies.
As the New York Times reported, "Parlatore described how Mr. Epshteyn had hindered him and other lawyers from getting information to Mr. Trump, leaving the former president’s legal team at a disadvantage in dealing with the Justice Department, which is scrutinizing Mr. Trump’s handling of classified documents after leaving office and his efforts to remain in office after losing the 2020 election."
Asked what is going on by "Morning Joe" regular Johnathan Lemire, Vance suggested a plea deal may be in the works.
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"It's almost as though there's a turf war going on here among the lawyers," she began. "You know, often, when you see a lawyer leave a legal team that might signify that there's a plea deal in the works or that there's some legal reason behind the change. Here, it looks like a pure turf battle. But when Paraltore goes out and reveals this sort of information, it's almost as though he's pointing a finger at Boris Epshteyn and including him in the group of people involved in obstructing justice in this situation."
"We don't usually see lawyers come out and make statements like this after they leave a legal team," she later added. "You know, it's CYA, it's maybe waving a red flag at the Justice Department and saying he would like to come back and testify in a grand jury. I think that would make it the third time for him."
"You know, Trump's lawyers don't seem to believe that when people say 'everything Trump touches dies,' that it includes the lawyers," she quipped. "But clearly, it does. Because they've put themselves at risk in a number of different ways."
"And so, we see lawyers leave and have to worry about whether they're next," she elaborated. "I don't think I've ever seen a situation where so many lawyers, Boris Epshteyn, John Eastman, are all invoked as part of possible criminal activity."
Watch the video below or at this link.
MSNBC 05 22 2023 07 07 38youtu.be
