Following news that the Department of Justice is investigating Donald Trump for his role in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building, the former president’s legal team is reportedly preparing to fight criminal charges that are looking increasingly inevitable. However, according to sources, the planning actually switched into overdrive well before the Washington Post revealed that the DOJ is looking into Trump. Once Cassidy Hutchinson gave her explosive testimony to the January 6 committee in June, Trump’s legal team immediately got to work preparing for charges.
As for the legal strategy, Rolling Stone reports that Trump’s current attorneys will allegedly try to pin the blame on others, particularly the strike legal team consisting of Rudy Giuliani, Sidney “The Kraken” Powell, and presumably John Eastman:
In their preparations, Trump’s team has discussed strategies that involve shifting blame from Trump to his advisers for the efforts to overturn the election, per the three sources, reflecting a broader push to find a fall guy — or fall guys. “Trump got some terrible advice from attorneys who, some people would argue, should have or must have known better,” says one of the sources with knowledge of recent discussions in Trumpland. “An ‘advice of counsel’ defense would be a big one.”
The specter of criminal charges arrives as Trump is already facing a lack of support from his voters. The January 6 hearings have encouraged even MAGA lovers to start pursuing other options for the 2024 presidential race. Namely, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is starting to emerge as the GOP front runner as Fox News continues to notably pivot away from Trump.
(Via Rolling Stone)