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Donald Trump's ex-attorney Ty Cobb described the former president's legal tactics as "frivolous" attempts at delaying his trials scheduled for later this year.
Trump is set to face four criminal trials this year, as he also remains the frontrunner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary election. He faces criminal charges in two federal cases—one centering around his alleged election interference attempts surrounding the 2020 presidential election, while the other concerns his alleged mishandling of classified documents recovered from his Mar-a-Lago residence.
He is also expected to go to trial over charges stemming from Georgia's Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' investigation into alleged attempts at thwarting the election results, as well as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's probe into an alleged hush money payment made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign. Trump maintains his innocence in each case, pleading not guilty to all charges and accusing federal prosecutors of targeting him for political purposes.
Cobb, who served as a White House attorney during the Trump administration, offered his insight into Trump's legal strategy in comments to The Guardian published Monday.
He said Trump's "major strategic objective" in each case is to "delay" these trials.
Legal analysts have speculated that Trump could seek to delay his federal trials past the 2024 election. If he wins the November 5 election, he could potentially either pardon himself or instruct the Department of Justice (DOJ) to drop charges against him.
"These criminal cases were started because of Trump's criminal acts and his refusal to allow the peaceful transfer of government for the first time in U.S. history. Trump's constitutional objections to the trial-related issues are all frivolous including his claim of presidential immunity and double jeopardy," Cobb told the publication.
Cobb also knocked Trump's attacks against prosecutors. The former president has been sharply critical of prosecutors, particularly DOJ special counsel Jack Smith, over the criminal cases. In December, for instance, Trump accused Smith of engaging in "election interference" after he requested the Supreme Court to rule on his presidential immunity defense claim. The court ultimately rejected Smith's request.
"Claiming the federal criminal cases or the Georgia RICO action are election interference, and railing constantly about the character of the prosecutors, judges and others, is just a formulaic game to Trump," Cobb said.
Newsweek reached out to the Trump campaign for comment via email.
The first of Trump's trials, the federal election interference case, is set to begin March 4, just one day before Super Tuesday. However, legal experts have noted the trial could be delayed as an appellate court decides on whether presidential immunity applies to the case.
Trump's attorneys have argued he cannot be charged in the case because he was president at the time of the alleged offenses. Others, however, say he was not acting in his official duties when he allegedly sought to thwart the election results, including by delivering a speech to his supporters on January 6, 2021, and organizing false slates of electors to submit to the Electoral College.
Should the election interference trial be delayed, Trump may face the New York trial first. In this case, Bragg charged Trump with falsifying business records for the alleged payment to Daniels, who has claimed to have had an affair with Trump. The former president pleaded not guilty and has denied having an affair.
The trial is scheduled for March 25.
About the writer
Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more