'Something really disturbs me': Expert reveals quiet outcome of 'alarming' Trump pledge
Former President Donald Trump made an "alarming" pledge this week with a dark consequence that has escaped the notice of the mainstream media, a political analyst and legal expert said Friday.
Political commentator Greg Sargent and former federal prosecutor Barbara McQuade discussed on the New Republic podcast "The Daily Blast" one subtle ramification of Trump's promise to fire Jack Smith, the special counsel prosecuting his two federal cases.
"This brings up something that really disturbs me about all this, I don't think the media has adequately covered it," Sargent told McQuade.
"Voters don’t really know that one thing that’s on the ballot in this election is whether Trump will be allowed to place himself above the law for extremely serious crimes against the country."
Sargent was referring to the accusations behind Smith's cases in Florida and Washington D.C. federal court.
The first alleges Trump violated the Espionage Act by hoarding classified documents in his Palm Beach property, the second contends he attempted to overturn a presidential election in the lead-up to the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump's pledge to fire Smith would essentially put an end to both cases — which McQuade argued will likely end in at least one conviction in 2025 should the former president lose the Nov. 5 election — and deliver what Sargent described as a critical blow to the rule of law.
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"It’s such a good point, and I do agree with you that it gets glossed over because what people say is, 'Well, of course, if Donald Trump is elected, he will dismiss the cases against himself,' and then there’s a roll of the eyes and then move on," McQuade said.
"It is important to pause for just a minute to think about how profound that really is."
McQuade first noted Trump's pledge represents a first in American history — no other president has ever attempted to order the Justice department to stop a case against him — then pointed to a problem in reference to the classified documents case.
"All the conduct alleged in the documents case occurred when he was out of office in 2017 when he was a private citizen," McQuade said. "There’s no immunity for any of that. It is really simply saying to the Justice Department, ''I order you to stop the case against me."'
The former prosecutor said Trump's private citizen status in the election interference case remains open after the Supreme Court ruled he enjoyed limited immunity in his conversations with the Justice department about the 2020 election.
But McQuade expressed confidence that Smith's argument in response, that several of Trump's actions remain subject to prosecution because they were taken by a candidate and not a president, would hold up in court if given the chance.
But she warned Smith will likely only get that chance if Trump loses the upcoming election.
"A second President Trump would say, Even for my private acts, I am going to pull the plug on these criminal cases," McQuade said. "That is a very starkly different world we would live in than we live in today."