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Former President Donald Trump is attempting to cash in a "get out of jail free card" by repeatedly claiming that criminal charges against him amount to "election interference," according to legal analyst Glenn Kirschner.
Kirschner, a former federal prosecutor, said during the latest episode of his Justice Matters podcast on Wednesday that the ex-president "could not be more wrong" in asserting that his legal woes amount to a politically motivated effort to compromise his 2024 presidential campaign.
Kirschner argued that Trump's "repeated, absurd claim of election interference" was an attempt to thwart "basic law enforcement." The former president, who is facing multiple federal and state felony charges, has denied any wrongdoing and says that he is the victim of a "witch hunt" by his political opponents.
"Donald Trump's claim is that if he is prosecuted and imprisoned for his crimes, somehow that represents election interference," Kirschner said. "Because, you know, he's running for elected office and you can't interfere with that ... You couldn't be more wrong about that, Donald."
"Law enforcement agencies can interfere in an election by indicting, prosecuting, convicting and imprisoning someone who happens to be running for office when the candidate is a criminal," he continued. "That can't accurately be called election interference. It's called basic law enforcement."
The legal analyst went on to say that Trump could not avoid "plain old justice" despite seeming "to think that the term 'election interference' is like some magical get out of jail free card."
Kirschner also highlighted what he said was "dangerous, desperate, inflammatory rhetoric" from the former president during his podcast on Wednesday.
After reading part of a Newsweek article about Trump recently calling for Special Counsel Jack Smith to be "put out to rest," Kirschner called the remark a "not so thinly veiled call to violence" and a "dog whistle" to Trump supporters.
Kirschner mentioned that January 6 defendant Taylor Taranto was arrested outside the home of former President Barack Obama last week with a van containing firearms and ammunition.
Taranto arrived at the home after re-sharing a Truth Social post from Trump that included Obama's home address, writing that he "got them surrounded" while sharing the post.
"You know, if you look up the term 'danger to the community' in the dictionary, you might as well have a picture of Donald Trump," Kirschner said.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said that Newsweek "seems very obsessed with Glenn Kirschner" in response to a request for comment.
Cheung then repeated a previously shared statement denouncing Kirschner as "a notorious trafficker of wild conspiracy theories and dubious legal analysis" who "has been shunned by the legal community at large."
About the writer
Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more