WATCH: Chuck Todd Asks What DoJ ‘Is Waiting For’ To Charge Trump — Ex-Federal Prosecutor Answers With Famous Quote From ‘The Wire’
Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara quoted The Wire‘s Omar Little when NBC’s Chuck Todd asked him what the Department of Justice “is waiting for” to charge former President Donald Trump.
On Sunday morning’s edition of NBC’s Meet the Press, Todd noted the flurry of activity in the various Trump investigations and asked Bharara “What do you think justice is waiting for?”
Bharara explained that while he believes the DoJ is “loaded for bear” with evidence against Trump, there’s a reason to be as deliberate as they’re being — then quoted Omar:
CHUCK TODD: I want to move to all of the various Trump investigations. There was a lot of movement this week. A federal judge decided not to hold Trump in contempt over these classified documents. I guess the question is he’s already admitted he took it. What do you think justice is waiting for?
PREET BHARARA: Oh, the Justice Department?
CHUCK TODD: Yeah.
PREET BHARARA: Oh, look, I think they’re, to coin a phrase, loaded for bear. They’ve appointed a special counsel of Jack Smith. There are a number of very seasoned prosecutors, to of whom I worked with very closely at the Southern District of New York when I was U.S. attorney and before that who I think are brought on for purposes of figuring out if there’s a triable case, a chargeable and triable case. And I don’t think they would’ve left their former positions, both in government and private practice, unless there was a serious possibility that the Justice Department was on a path to charge. And I think it’ll happen in a month.
CHUCK TODD: And your definition of a triable case meaning you can win it, you have all the evidence? Because you can have all the evidence but not win a trial, right?
PREET BHARARA: I mean, I think those are intertwined. They’re not going to proceed. You generally do not proceed unless you have a great likelihood of success. But the prerequisite is that you believe that the person is guilty of the crime, right? And when you’re charging somebody in maybe the highest-stakes trial, in some ways, in history, because it’s the former president of the United States, you’ve got to have all your ducks in a row.
CHUCK TODD: I was just going to say, as a prosecutor, you’re going to say, “Hey look, politics isn’t supposed to enter this,” but it does. How does it?
PREET BHARARA: Well, I don’t know that politics enters it. I think prosecutors have to be careful about having public trust, right?
CHUCK TODD: Political fallout.
PREET BHARARA: Yeah. You keep wanting to use the word “politics.” I don’t want to use that word. You know the famous phrase, “If you run at the king, you best not miss.” There are a lot of people who are going to be opposed to this prosecution. So like any prosecution, you want to have your Ts crossed and your Is dotted.
And you want to have proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and you want to have a strong case. I think you want to have an exceptionally strong case when you’re bringing it in a context which, I’ll use your word, things are very politicized. To show not just the jury in the case but the public at large that it was a righteous case, it was a meritorious case, and you have the goods.
To paraphrase Omar, in the end the “Commander of Cheese” stands alone.
Watch above via NBC’s Meet the Press.
