Former president Trump is likely going to jail over classified documents, attorney Marc Elias said during his appearance on MSNBC. The lawyer explained that people keep forgetting about the “damaging” evidence in the Mar-a-Lago case.
Lawyer speaks about “damaging” evidence
Elias, a voting rights attorney who was on MSNBC’s The Weekend, reminded me, “People forget how damaging the evidence is in that Florida case.” He continued, “It is literally about a former president of the United States stealing highly classified sensitive documents from the United States government, treating them cavalierly, showing them to people, storing them willy-nilly..”
Prison is highly likely
Elias, a founder of Democracy Docket, added, “It is devastating to him politically. It’s devastating legally. It puts him in the real prospect of going to prison for a long time.”
Interesting timing
Elias’s comments came after Jack Smith’s office’s 68-page brief rejected political bias and accused the defense of trying to “cast a cloud of suspicion over responsible actions by government officials diligently doing their jobs.”
The trial is set for May
Though the trial date is still May 20, delays are highly likely. The D.C. trial was recently postponed since the appeals court has yet to decide on Trump’s team’s presidential immunity claims. The trial for alleged falsification of business records is scheduled for March 25.
Elias talks about the Colorado case
During his MSNBC interview, the lawyer said that the Colorado ballot case is uncommon. However, as he wrote on X, “There really is no way for the Court to protect Trump and defend the U.S. Constitution — it must choose and bear the consequences.”
SCOTUS oral hearing is set for February 8
Elias explained what the preparations for an oral hearing in front of the Supreme Court look like, and based on his experience, lawyers are doing two things: mock arguments and figuring out how best to present their case in a short period. The oral hearing in the Supreme Court is set for February 8.
For Elias, things are clear
The lawyer cited Amendment 14 Section 3 while explaining this should be an easy case for SCOTUS. Elias added, “The least political thing the court can do right now is just to follow the Constitution.” Elias said that if the SCOTUS justices get engaged in “how to avoid controversy,” that signals trouble.
Chuck Rosenberg’s argument
MSNBC played the clip from January 27, where Chuck Rosenberg, an attorney, noted that the Constitution says it bars someone from holding the office, not from running for it. Elias responded, “I have a lot of respect for Chuck, but here’s the problem. That’s like saying the 17-year-old could run for president,” explaining that only if they win the presidential election, “at that point they get disqualified.”
Novel case does not have to be hard
“Novel is not synonymous with hard,” Elis stated, adding, “The fact that it does not come often that the president of the United States engages in insurrection is a good thing.” However, “It is not a get out of jail free card, or get on the ballot card,” Elis added. The lawyer stated the text of Section 3 is clear, and SCOTUS should simply follow the Constitution.
Trump’s putting “pressure” on the system
Elias said that Trump is putting “maximum pressure” on the system to help him get elected. He noted, “It is the job of the judiciary not to be used in that fashion.” He added he hopes the D.C. case will soon have the ruling on the immunity question, but “we need not allow Donald Trump to create an artificial deadline, artificial timeline, whereby if the courts won’t act, somehow he is done.”
Elias discussed the Colorado case in depth
The lawyer wrote on Democary Docket, “This is a novel case. Never has a president incited a violent mob to storm the Capitol. Never has a major political party embraced a candidate who has been indicted in state and federal court for conspiring against the peaceful transfer of power.”
Keeping the Court out of politics
Elias added, “When the justices walk up to the Court next week to hear the Colorado disqualification case, they will see ‘Equal Justice Under Law’ inscribed on the entrance. Donald Trump is entitled to that inscription, as is every other citizen of this country. We should expect and demand nothing less.” Read the whole op-ed here.
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