Watergate prosecutor says slapping Trump with a charge for rebellion or insurrection could prevent him from ever holding office again
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- Jill Wine-Banks said the "best" crime to charge Trump with could be rebellion or insurrection.
- Wine-Banks said the penalty for such an offense would bar Trump from ever holding office again.
- She added that he could also be charged with other crimes, like witness tampering.
Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks said charging former President Donald Trump with rebellion or insurrection would prevent him from holding political office again.
During an MSNBC appearance on Friday, Wine-Banks was asked whether she thought Trump would at least be indicted for obstruction of justice. She suggested that one of the "best" crimes to indict the former president for is rebellion or insurrection, an offense under Title 18 of the US Code, Section 2383.
"I think it would be horrible not to act on what is now blatantly obvious to anyone who has watched the hearings," Wine-Banks said.
She noted that, unlike a seditious conspiracy charge, a rebellion or insurrection charge would see the convicted offender barred from "ever holding federal office again."
Wine-Banks called the penalty a "more important goal than jailing the former president."
She added that Trump could face several other charges based on the testimonies presented at the January 6 hearings.
"There is, of course, obstruction of Congress, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, so many things just based on Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony," Wine-Banks said.
In April, Wine-Banks said she believed Trump's potentially criminal actions on January 6 could be "incalculably worse" than those of former President Richard Nixon.
She has also joined figures like former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney in commenting on how Trump could face criminal charges. Mulvaney, for one, has claimed that the January 6 panel may have evidence that could lead to Trump being hit with obstruction of justice charges.