Ex-Acting Solicitor General: Trump Knows His Future Is ‘Behind Bars’ If No Deal

Neal Katyal on CNN Dec. 10, 2018
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

While discussing whether a sitting president can be indicted, former Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal told CNN that President Trump knows he faces “some pretty strong criminal liability” when he leaves office and suggested Trump’s future “look like it’s behind bars.”

“Trump knows he’s facing some pretty strong criminal liability when he leaves office, one way or another,” he told CNN Monday morning. “And you know, even if the sitting president can’t be indicted, he’s got to know his future looks like it’s behind bars unless he cuts some sort of deal with the prosecutors.”

The comments follow remarks from Trump himself and his attorney Rudy Giuliani, who claim that the details of Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen’s deal with special counsel Robert Mueller further clears the President of wrongdoing. Giuliani has alleged, citing the outcome of the case against former Sen. John Edwards, that the payments Cohen made for Trump to keep at least two women quiet about alleged affairs with Trump before the election were not campaign contributions.

Katyal disagreed.

“That is an incredibly damning document that his own Justice Department filed, essentially against him, on Friday, saying President Trump ordered the commission of various felonies. Serious felonies,” he said.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. There isn’t enough popcorn in the world that can be served to satisfy me for what is coming to Don the Con. Damn!

  2. Avatar for erik_t erik_t says:

    If (against all odds) Donald Trump sought and faithfully executed a cooperation agreement with federal prosecutors, he would die of old age before he finished describing the various felonies he committed or to which he was a witness.

    Because of his very big, very good brain. It’s like a steel trap for those sorts of things.

  3. Avatar for gregor gregor says:

    Isn’t Katyal an illegal alien or an anchor baby?

    You let them in and they destroy the order of the universe that has been around for centuries.

    They send their lawyers, they send their prosecutors, they send all their kharab loags.

  4. Permit me the stupid question… what is to prevent Trump from pardoning himself towards the end of his term?

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

169 more replies

Participants

Avatar for pluckyinky Avatar for jootjoint Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for ncsteve Avatar for mattinpa Avatar for chelsea530 Avatar for alyoshakaramazov1 Avatar for moreyampersand Avatar for tena Avatar for junebug Avatar for clauscph Avatar for tsp Avatar for asturcot Avatar for katscherger Avatar for erik_t Avatar for redhand Avatar for seamus42 Avatar for seveneagles Avatar for gregor Avatar for atldrew Avatar for occamscoin Avatar for zenicetus Avatar for dicktater Avatar for emiliano4

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: