Donald Trump doomed one of his legal defenses during his interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker that aired on Sunday’s broadcast of “Meet the Press,” legal experts said.
Trump told Welker it was his decision — and not that of his lawyers — to challenge the 2020 election result.
“Were you calling the shots, though, Mr. President, ultimately?” Welker asked Trump. The ex-president replied: “As to whether or not I believed it was rigged? Oh, sure … it was my decision. But I listened to some people. Some people said that.”
WATCH: Kristen Welker asks former President Trump to clarify if he was listening to his lawyers’ advice or his own instincts after he lost the 2020 election.
Trump: “It was my decision.” pic.twitter.com/ib4D5rKfqN — Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) September 17, 2023
Harvard constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe said Trump “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 added on X, formerly Twitter.
Trump just threw his whole “following my lawyers’ advice” defense under the bus.
— not just under the bus but under a roaring, speeding, ginormous freight train . . . .
🚂🚆 🚊 🚂 https://t.co/FmHKgz6qIr — Laurence Tribe 🇺🇦 ⚖️ (@tribelaw) September 17, 2023
Former acting solicitor general Neal Katyal, appearing on MSNBC’s “Inside With Jen Psaki,” agreed.
The Obama-era Department of Justice official said Trump’s comment had just made the election obstruction case against him before U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan “a lot easier.”
Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann, meanwhile, told Psaki it was actually a “twofer” admission from the former president because Trump also admitted to Welker that he’d demanded the votes stop being counted.
“He just said it on air to NBC, ‘Stop counting the votes.’ Well, that’s not allowed,” Weissmann said.
we_are_sex_bobomb on September 18th, 2023 at 12:40 UTC »
Okay so in this interview he says he read books to help him decide the election was rigged (HA)
Anyway he specifically calls out a book by Molly Hemingway called “Rigged” as something that influenced his decision to commit insurrection.
Putting aside the fact that Molly Hemingway has zero law experience but is in fact a political pundit with an economics degree, Trump’s army attacked the Capital in January and her book didn’t come out until October.
Granted he could’ve seen an early copy or something… but he’s still saying he ignored his legal team in favor of an opinion piece written by someone with no legal education.
This definitely builds the case of, “Trump sought out opinions that he won and fired anyone who said he lost.”
PaydayJones on September 18th, 2023 at 11:09 UTC »
This is one of the more baffling things throughout his history. I have no idea how he secures new attornies. He, notoriously, doesn't pay for services rendered. On top of that, it seems, whenever a defense is being built that involves him 'not knowing' or 'not understanding' his actions, he pulls a full on Colonel Jessup either on camera or on Truth.
bondbird on September 18th, 2023 at 11:07 UTC »
Quoting - “Were you calling the shots, though, Mr. President, ultimately?” Welker asked Trump. The ex-POTUS replied: “As to whether or not I believed it was rigged? Oh, sure … it was my decision. But I listened to some people. Some people said that.”
And it was your decision, Mr. Trump, to go on national TV and brag about it, because you don't think that 'anything you say can and will be used against you' applies to you.