Former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker told Newsmax on Friday that a recent poll showing 13% of the public believes former President Donald Trump is being treated fairly in New York indicates that the American people are seeing through the proceedings.
"What it means is that everyone sees what's going on, and they understand what's happening to Donald Trump, and they understand how he's being treated differently than any other person that's charged with a crime," Whitaker said on "Wake Up America."
"I think the other thing, as I watch this trial from afar, is, first of all, the issue we always talk about is cameras in the courtroom. I think it'd be a much different trial if we were watching this play out on our TV screens, but it's so obvious to me that Alvin Bragg and his team want to make this all about 2016, all about some election interference theme they have. Meanwhile, they are the ones that are interfering with an election, and it's the election in 2024 by keeping President Trump off the campaign trail."
Whitaker also said that, based on the news coverage, the media seems upset with Trump for beating Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 and blame former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker for helping Trump suppress stories that might have damaged his presidential bid.
Pecker testified on Tuesday that he purchased a story from Trump Tower doorman Dino Sajudin, who claimed Trump fathered a child with a maid who worked for him. Later, the Enquirer learned the story was not true.
"When someone's running for public office like this, it is very common for these women to call up a magazine like the National Enquirer to try to sell their stories," Pecker said.
"That's exactly where we are and, watching the news reports, what it's about," Whitaker said.
The Whitaker also said that there's "a lot of legal hurdles" the prosecution has to clear "to prove this case."
"I think one of the main legal hurdles is this New York misdemeanor that now, because it's combined with these document misdemeanors somehow elevates it all to felonies, is it even appropriate or legal for New York to regulate a presidential election?" he said. "I'm not sure that that issue is going to break to the advantage of Alvin Bragg because, at the end of the day, there is really no state regulation of presidential elections and federal offices.
"So, this is, again, a novel legal theory that I think they're going to lose, ultimately, but all they want is a conviction, and I'm wondering what this jury is thinking right now, as they sit there."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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