Georgetown University law professor Neal Katyal compared President Donald Trump’s tweets about Roger Stone and Michael Cohen to a mob shakedown on CNN’s “New Day” Tuesday.
Trump tweeted about Cohen’s deal with special counsel Robert Mueller Monday and said his former lawyer should serve a “full and complete sentence” for his crimes. Trump then followed up with praise for Stone and commended him on having the “guts” not to testify.
“Michael Cohen asks judge for no Prison Time.” You mean he can do all of the TERRIBLE, unrelated to Trump, things having to do with fraud, big loans, Taxis, etc., and not serve a long prison term? He makes up stories to get a GREAT & ALREADY reduced deal for himself, and get…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2018
….his wife and father-in-law (who has the money?) off Scott Free. He lied for this outcome and should, in my opinion, serve a full and complete sentence.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2018
“I will never testify against Trump.” This statement was recently made by Roger Stone, essentially stating that he will not be forced by a rogue and out of control prosecutor to make up lies and stories about “President Trump.” Nice to know that some people still have “guts!”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2018
“This is really grave stuff,” Katyal said. “There’s a federal statute, 18 U.S. Code 1512 which prohibits any person from stopping any other person from testifying or delaying their testimony because of a corrupt intent.” (RELATED: Former Bill Clinton Press Secretary Compares Trump To A ‘Crime Boss’)
“And it sure looks like when you read that tweet and when you read it next to the other one tweeted right alongside it the minute before about Michael Cohen and how the book should be thrown at him, this is not the way any ordinary investigation proceeds unless you are dealing with, you know, the mob or something like that.”
WATCH:
Katyal claimed Trump was purposely using mob tactics to intimidate those who would stand against him, while rewarding those who would stay silent.
“That is the way the president is talking, which is, you know, ‘it would be a sure shame if you cooperated with the government. Bad stuff happens to those who cooperate and good stuff happens to those like Roger stone who stay silent,'” he continued.
Host John Berman said Trump’s defense team will say the president simply doesn’t want anyone to be forced to lie and Katyal claimed that would be hypocritical.
“I think we should really view that in context. The idea that … Giuliani’s defense is the president was telling people not to lie. If so, that would be a first. And that is not the way Donald Trump behaves,” Katyal said. “And so, It’d be a pretty remarkable thing for the president for the first time to actually tell people to tell the truth, rather his modis operandi is to hire a bunch of people who lie for him and then if they turn on him to say, ‘Oh you’re a liar.'”
“It’d be one thing if this were coming from Mother Teresa or something like that. It’s coming from Donald Trump, whose pants are literally on fire whenever he opens his mouth,” Katyal concluded.
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