Former President Donald Trump said during an interview that aired Sunday it was his decision to describe the 2020 presidential election as “rigged.”
When asked why he ignored his lawyers and advisers who told him he lost the 2020 election, Trump said on NBC’s “Meet The Press” it was because he “didn’t respect them.”
“You’d hired them,” anchor Kristen Welker pointed out.
“Sure but that doesn’t mean — you know you hire ‘em, you’ve never met these people, you get a recommendation, they turn out to be RINO’s,” Trump responded, adding “In many cases, I didn’t respect them. But I did respect others. I respected many others that said the election was rigged.”
“You called some of your outside lawyers — you said they had crazy theories. Why were you listening to them?” Welker followed up. “Were you listening to them because they were telling you what you wanted to hear?”
“You know who I listen to? Myself,” Trump responded. “I saw what happened. I watched that election, and I thought the election was over at 10 o’clock in the evening.”
“Were you calling the shots though Mr. President, ultimately?” Welker pressed.
“As to whether or not I believed it was rigged? Sure. It was my decision,” Trump responded. “But I listened to some people. Some people said that.”
Trump’s remarks come as he is currently facing 91 counts across four criminal cases in Washington D.C., New York, Florida and Georgia — two of which are federal. The indictments in Washington and Georgia stem from the former president’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
Since the former president got hit with the historic indictment, legal experts have floated potential arguments Trump’s team may rely on to try and get through these criminal cases.
One of those arguments — though quite risky — would be for Trump to claim that he was following his lawyers’ advice. That, of course, would require him to testify to that in court.
After his remarks on NBC, that defense might be harder than ever to sell to a judge.
In reaction to Trump’s admission, Harvard constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe said that the former president “just threw his whole ‘following my lawyers’ advice’ defense under the bus.”
“No, let me correct that: not just under the bus but under a roaring, speeding, ginormous freight train,” Tribe tweeted.
Former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal and former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann also agreed on MSNBC’s “Inside With Jen Psaki” on Sunday.
Katyal said Trump’ comments actually “demonstrates his culpability” and makes the case against him “a lot easier.”
To modify the old saying, Trump’s lawyers have a fool for a client.
When indicted for Big Boy Federal Crimes in multiple jurisdictions, especially those with a robust intent requirement, it is very smart and strong and bigly good to sit for interviews describing your contemporaneous thought process and state of mind.
Many people are saying.
Well, it was his decision and he was President. That makes it an executive decision which is protected by executive privilege meaning Trump can’t be held accountable in any way for it.
Case dismissed!
(Always remember, the Constitution will say whatever you want it to say so long as you don’t allow anyone to correct you.)
In the days of what we consider Original Fascism there would have been only media that was controlled by the President and we would be in a fascist state right now with this fat fuck as leader for life.
Your neighbor would be turning you into the police for listening to rap music. The length of your skirt would be legally binding, and the ignorant bully POS on your street would be a corrupt cop if they are not already.
It will come if he is allowed another shot at the role of president. We’re sitting here wondering what happens if he wins when he has already proven that just participating allows him to foment violence in his people.
What, you think if he loses this time he’s going to concede?
Is this idiot so desperate that he believes the only way to go forward is to “taint the jury pool” and use that to get the case moved to Texas where as we’ve all just seen, anything goes and black is white (i.e., blatant corruption is normal and acceptable)? What is his motivation? Insanity?
I’m not sure why someone in the press just doesn’t ask Trump during his next interview if he is sane or insane. A preamble listed some of his questionable statements and actions naturally leads to this sort of question.
And then the follow-up question to every Republican (not just candidates) asking are they insane for supporting such an individual and party where the rule of law has been destroyed. Time for public niceties is over.