Biden Could Face 'Retribution' If He Loses, Ex-Trump Lawyer Warns

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President Joe Biden is at risk of being targeted with meritless legal "retribution" if former President Donald Trump wins the November election, according to former Trump lawyer Ty Cobb.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit delivered a devastating blow to Trump on Tuesday, allowing his federal felony election subversion case to move forward while ruling against the ex-president's claim that his actions surrounding Biden's victory in 2020 were covered by presidential immunity.

Trump, who is expected to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, claimed in a Truth Social post shortly after the ruling that all future presidents would face "the opposite Party's Vicious Retribution after leaving Office" as a result of the court's decision.

Cobb, who served on the Trump White House legal team from July 2017 to May 2018, predicted during a Tuesday interview with CNN's Erin Burnett that Trump would try to make his prediction come true if he returns to the presidency but would not get "very far," since there is no "legal basis" to prosecute Biden.

Donald Trump Joe Biden Legal Retribution Immunity
Former President Donald Trump, left, is pictured in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 27, 2024, while President Joe Biden, right, on Tuesday is shown at the White House in Washington, D.C. Former Trump lawyer Ty... David Becker; MANDEL NGAN/AFP

"I do believe that if Trump is elected that President Biden could be in danger of retribution," Cobb said. "But I don't believe there's a legal basis for it and I don't think it would go very far."

Newsweek reached out for comment to the White House via email on Tuesday night.

Cobb dismissed Trump's claim that Tuesday's "nation-destroying" ruling would harm the presidency and democracy, arguing that none of the presidents before Trump faced prosecution because they did not commit "an intentional criminal act."

"The 44 presidents that preceded President Trump did not waste a second, I think, debating whether they should commit an intentional criminal act," said Cobb. "So I don't really buy that argument. History doesn't suggest that it's true."

Cobb went on to say that Trump's claim the court "took away his immunity" was fallacious, arguing that full immunity is promised to presidents "nowhere" in law.

"Nobody since Nixon has believed that presidents are above criminal process," Cobb said. "I think everything [Trump] said today—his rhetoric designed for his base, red meat—none of it's true."

Trump, who is far and away the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, was charged with four felony counts in the D.C. case, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.

The former president has pleaded not guilty to all 91 felony charges facing him across four criminal indictments, claiming that his legal woes are a politically motivated "witch hunt" and amount to "election interference."

Trump has also claimed, without evidence, that Biden is personally responsible for his multitude of court cases.

Despite having once worked for Trump, Cobb has been sharply critical of the ex-president since he left the White House. Last month, Cobb called Trump's apparent legal strategy of attempting to delay his trials "frivolous."

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About the writer

Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she has covered the 2020 and 2022 elections, the impeachments of Donald Trump and multiple State of the Union addresses. Other topics she has reported on for Newsweek include crime, public health and the emergence of COVID-19. Aila was a freelance writer before joining Newsweek in 2019. You can get in touch with Aila by emailing a.slisco@newsweek.com. Languages: English.


Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more