‘Almost Certainly Going To Result In A Conviction’: Former Obama DOJ Official Says Jan. 6 Indictment ‘Packs A Punch’
Harold Hutchison on August 2, 2023
Former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal claimed Wednesday that former President Donald Trump would “almost certainly” be convicted on charges stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, despite comments from legal experts on the First Amendment issues with the indictment.
“I think more generally Jack Smith’s indictment here is straightforward and narrow but, boy, it packs a punch,” Katyal told “Deadline: White House” host Nicolle Wallace on MSNBC. Special Counsel Jack Smith secured a four-count indictment of Trump relating to his efforts to contest the results of the 2020 election after he previously secured a 37-count indictment against Trump in June based on an investigation into allegations surrounding classified documents.
“It’s calculated and I feel like it’s almost certainly going to result in a conviction,” Katyal claimed. “Obviously Trump is entitled to the presumption of innocence and Jack Smith has to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. We’ve seen a lot of the evidence in this indictment like what you were just referring to, the different plots and the states and the like and it seems like a very, very strong case. Trump will get his day in court like every other defendant, but I certainly don’t expect that day to go well for him.”
WATCH:
Legal experts noted that much of the conduct Smith claimed was criminal in the indictment appeared to be protected by the First Amendment.
“When I take a red pen through material that is protected by the First Amendment, it reduces much of this to a haiku,” George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said on Fox News Tuesday night.
“It’s 45 pages of First Amendment protected activity broken up by four captions listing conspiracy statutes that do not apply,” Townhall.com columnist and attorney Kurt Schlichter tweeted Tuesday.
Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz said that the indictment not only attacked the First Amendment, but also Trump’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel.
“There is a very, very dangerous indictment, dangerous to the First Amendment and also dangerous to the Sixth Amendment because it directly goes after Trump’s lawyers, names them as unindicted coconspirators without giving their names, basically says they’re criminals for giving him advice how to challenge the election,” Dershowitz told Fox Business host Larry Kudlow Wednesday.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].