Donald Trump reportedly directed his attorney to attack New York Attorney General Letitia James in court as he asked the judge to block James from enforcing subpoenas for the former president and two of his children. But the move blew up in his face, according to former prosecutor Renato Mariotti.
Trump’s attempt to bring politics into the courtroom apparently opened the door for the sitting judge to rule against the former president, as well as Ivanka Trump and Don Trump Jr., on the matter of being questioned that could lead to a devastating criminal indictment, Mariotti wrote in a column published on Politico and highlighted by Raw Story.
“Maybe it was Trump’s ego or his insistence that his lawyers make the question of the deposition a political battle rather than a legal one. But while Trump’s attorneys argued that James was using the civil investigation to develop evidence that could be used against Trump in a criminal case, they downplayed his potential criminal liability,” Mariotti wrote.
“Alina Habba, an attorney for Trump, spent much of her time arguing that James was pursuing a ‘vendetta’ against Donald Trump and his family to take him down or her own political gain,” Mariotti revealed before explaining that such a brazen argument might work on Fox News but not in a courtroom.
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As a result, Trump now faces the possibility that his answers — or refusal to answer — will be used against him in both civil and criminal probes.
“It’s not surprising that this approach did not persuade a judge who undoubtedly has come across parallel criminal and civil investigations throughout his career. Trump’s lawyers might argue that James was doing something outside the box by moving forward with a civil investigation of potential fraud while a criminal probe was underway. But as long as there is a proper basis for the civil investigation, the judge’s role is to weigh the potential of impairing the defendant’s Fifth Amendment right against the harm caused by pausing the civil investigation,” Mariotti wrote.
The attorney went on to explain that Trump now finds himself “between a rock and a hard place.”
“If he sits for this deposition and answers questions under oath, his words can and will be used against him by the Manhattan DA and potentially other criminal prosecutors. But if he takes the Fifth, that can be used against him in the civil case because the judge can instruct the jury to draw an ‘adverse inference’ against him,” he explained.
Mariotti noted that indictments could be right around the corner after the Trumps testify.
“All signs suggest that Trump (and his son and daughter) will take the Fifth and blame James for having to do so. That might save face for them for now. But in the long run, it will hurt their position if her investigation results in a civil case against them,” he wrote before adding, “Right now, it looks like that is a very distinct possibility.”
