Fox News Legal Analyst Jonathan Turley Sounds Alarm on ‘Very Serious’ Trump Indictment: ‘This is a Different Ball Game’
Fox News legal analyst Jonathan Turley shared genuine concern that former President Donald Trump is in serious legal jeopardy following his indictment over handling of classified documents.
Turley has been a frequent defender of Trump amid his many legal problems, so it’s particularly notable when he points out that the seven counts of federal crimes under which the ex-president has been indicted should not be easily dismissed as politically motivated.
Trump announced Thursday on social media that he was facing federal charges for handling classified documents following his term in the White House, with reports surfacing that he may have violated the Espionage Act and been charged with conspiracy.
Since then, CNN has published a transcript of audio that purports to reveal Trump admitting his knowledge of classified documents he had in his possession. “All sorts of stuff – pages long, look,” Trump is reportedly heard saying. “Wait a minute, let’s see here. I just found, isn’t that amazing? This totally wins my case, you know. Except it is like, highly confidential. Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this.”
“You have to take this very seriously,” Turley offered. “What we have to really wait for is to see what the indictment says.”
Though Turley didn’t specifically cite the CNN report, he appeared to reference it, saying, “You know, there are a lot of leaks in the past. Some leaks have proven to be untrue. But there are leaks that they have had cooperation from within the Trump team, that they have this tape, either video or audio of the president referring to possession of a classified document dealing with Iran. Those can have a significant impact. Audio tapes and videotapes are particularly damaging in a case like this.”
Bill Hemmer then asked his guest about Special Counsel Jack Smith’s reputation compared to Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, who also indicted Trump on campaign finance charges. “How strong must this indictment read to be credible to the American people? ” he asked.
“I know a lot of people have criticized Smith for his background, but he’s no Alvin Bragg,” Turley replied. “He’s a serious prosecutor. The Alvin Bragg prosecution is a political prosecution. It is what Trump says it is. It is a weaponization of the criminal justice system, in my view.”
“This is a different ball game,” Turley warned. “These are prosecutors bringing charges that they have routinely brought and won in federal court.”
Watch above via Fox News.
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