CNN’s Laura Coates Leaves Byron Donalds Silent With Counter To Claim Hush Trial Will Be ‘Overturned’
CNN anchor and former federal prosecutor Laura Coates left Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) silenced after his claim that former President Donald Trump’s rights were violated in his Manhattan hush money trial, where he was criminally convicted of falsifying business records to hide payments to a pornstar.
Donalds, a potential vice presidential pick for Trump’s 2024 ticket, appeared on Laura Coates Live, where the host asked him, in advance on Thursday’s presidential debate, whether Trump will focus on “kitchen table issues” rather than “personal grievances” or his “legal troubles.”
On that, the lawmaker pushed back on critique of the former president’s repeated discussion of his trial at rallies, and defended Trump against what he called a “travesty” and predicted an appellate court would overturn the verdict.
Donalds said: “I’ve been on the trail with the [former] President. I’ve listened to his words, whether it was Detroit, whether it was the south Bronx, whether it was Philadelphia. I’ve seen him make this case to the American people time and time again. Of course, he talks about what happens in lower Manhattan because, at the end of the day, his constitutional rights were violated in that courtroom in Manhattan. And every legal commentator, virtually every legal scholar, all agree that that case is going to be overturned at the appellate level because he didn’t even what he was defending himself against.”
The lawmaker then cited the recent Supreme Court decision in Erlinger v. United States decision, in which the Court determined that “the Fifth and Sixth Amendments necessitate a unanimous jury to ascertain beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant’s prior offenses occurred on distinct occasions” in the context of unlawful firearm possession.
He continued: “The Supreme Court just came out the other day and said that if you’re going to try to convict somebody that the jury has to be consistent about actual crime that did not occur in lower Manhattan.
Donalds added: “But at the end of the day, Donald Trump, of course, he talks about it, but the overwhelming message is about what his administration, when he comes back as 47th president, is going to mean for the American people. And I guarantee you this. It will be significantly better for all Americans than the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris administration.”
Coates, who boasts a 20-year career as an attorney and is the network’s chief legal analyst, countered: “Just for the edification of the audience, you’re talking about the nuance of the New York jury instruction where they did not have to agree on the underlying predicate crime that would elevate it from a misdemeanor to a felony, but they had to be unanimous in their overall decision.”
She added: “I’ll be very curious to see how that plays out at the appellate level. And of course, what the Supreme Court has to say about a very pressing issue.”
Watch above on CNN.
