Former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal predicted Wednesday that an indictment for Donald Trump in the classified documents scandal is coming “soon” — and explained why it will be the former president’s “worst nightmare.”
Katyal, appearing on MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House,” noted to anchor Nicolle Wallace how neither Attorney General Merrick Garland, and special counsel Jack Smith who Garland appointed to lead the investigation, are overtly political, much to Trump’s annoyance.
Garland, although a political appointee, “has a long-standing reputation in Washington of being bipartisan, of being a careful and respected jurist on both sides of the aisle,” Katyal said.
Smith, meanwhile, is independent.
“So, as between those two, when we’re talking about something as sensitive as ‘Do you indict a former president?’, it would make all the sense in the world that that’s a Jack Smith determination,” Katyal said.
“And that’s what Donald Trump is afraid of,” he added. “He’s afraid of having someone independent do this. If it’s someone political, at least he can trash it as being political or this or that. So this is Trump’s worst nightmare.”
Amid reports Smith’s investigation has almost been concluded, Katyal noted Justice Department rules are to bring prosecutions “when they are ready and you don’t really look to external influences or things like that.”
“My expectation is this is going to be soon,” he added.
Former Trump White House lawyer Ty Cobb this week said the Department of Justice has a “tight case” against Trump for allegedly refusing to return classified documents after leaving the White House.
Trump denies any criminal wrongdoing.
Watch the interview here:
Related…
[ad_2]
Source link