Legal Experts Eisen, Vance, Weissmann React To Trump Indictment During Press Call

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Washington, DC — Earlier today, Democracy 21 hosted a press call with top legal experts to discuss Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s indictment of former President Donald Trump on charges of illegally concealing hush-money payments by doctoring his corporate accounting books to keep this vital information from voters during the closing days of the 2016 election.

Here’s what some of the country’s top legal experts — including Ambassador Norman Eisen (ret.), former United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama Joyce Vance, and former FBI General Counsel Andrew Weissmann — had to say about the case:

On the seriousness of the indictment against Trump:

Eisen: “You could not have a more serious matter than this. I believe that the facts, the evidence we know about, the strong corroboration of witnesses — like Michael Cohen and David Pecker — make this a very strong case.”

Vance: “Some people think this case is not important. I strongly disagree. […] This is about someone who was struggling in a campaign and took steps to try to make sure that his further struggles were minimized on the eve of an election. I think that that’s incredibly serious just standing on its own.”

Vance: “From where I sit, what this is about is the criminal justice system and letting it work, a grand jury scrutinized these charges and decided that there was sufficient evidence to bring charges.”

On the prosecutors:

Vance: “Something I do know about this case that gives me a lot of confidence is who’s involved in bringing it — not just Alvin Bragg, a district attorney who is previously served as a federal prosecutor [and] previously served on Letitia James’ staff in the New York Attorney General’s office, but also the people he’s brought in to work with him. […] [These are lawyers who] are very ethical, who don’t get things wrong and who appreciate the gravity of being the first prosecutorial entity to bring charges against a former President of the United States. That makes me willing to listen to their side of this case.”

Weissmann: “I too have enormous respect for the people in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. […] People who are career prosecutors are very aware of as well as the burden of proof that makes that a real requirement, in terms of being able to show to a jury beyond reasonable doubt and with unanimity that something [illegal] has occurred.”

On no one — not even a former President of the United States — being above the law:

Weissmann: “With respect to even somebody who is the President of the United States, there are all sorts of examples from around the world of legitimate righteous cases were brought whether we’re talking about in Argentina, France, England, and the current leader of Israel is under indictment for corruption. […] [Trump] is just like anybody else in that your former job does not immunize you or give you any special treatment when you’re analyzing how the criminal law should be treating you.”

On Trump’s efforts to influence public opinion:

Vance: “The next four days are a vacuum that favors the former President because this is what he likes to do. He likes to step into an information vacuum, provide information that favors him, and sway public opinion before the true facts get out. […] [Trump’s] not trying to let the legal system deal with the issues that the Manhattan DA’s office is raising. He’s trying to win over public opinion and use that to corrupt the criminal justice system.”

On Republican lawmakers’ efforts to interfere with an ongoing, state-level criminal investigation:

Weissmann: “I can’t say there are no set of circumstances, but it would be extremely unusual to be able to identify something of congressional interest in an ongoing federal case that would warrant an examination during that criminal case.”

Eisen: “No court will enforce a subpoena for Bragg to talk about this open criminal case. […] Those House GOP figures who have made clear their intent to interfere with Bragg’s investigation and their alliance with the former President – reportedly taking calls from him last night — that tiptoes up to the edge of obstruction.”

An audio recording of the press call is available by request. Additional resources detailing key information about this case can be found below:

  • Democracy 21: Hush Money And High Stakes 10 Key Facts On Trump’s Legal Battle In Manhattan
  • Just Security: The Manhattan DA’s Charges and Trump’s Defenses: A Detailed Preview
  • Just Security: Detailed Chronology in the Trump-Cohen Hush Money Investigation
  • Just Security: Survey of Past New York Felony Prosecutions for Falsifying Business Records
  • Just Security: Survey of Past Criminal Prosecutions for Covert Payments to Benefit a Political Campaign
  • MSNBC: Norman Eisen, Fred Wertheimer, and Josh Stanton — The House GOP’s Manhattan DA meddling is ugly, partisan, and potentially unlawful

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