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Senator Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, on Sunday described former President Donald Trump's indictment in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) classified documents case as "almost a slam dunk."
Trump, currently the front runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has been indicted in four separate criminal cases so far this year, facing a total of 91 charges. The DOJ indicted him in both an election interference case and an investigation into classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida residence. In addition, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicted him for allegedly falsifying business records in connection to a 2016 hush money payment, and a Fulton County, Georgia, grand jury last week indicted him in District Attorney Fani Willis' case into alleged attempts to thwart the 2020 election results in the state, which he narrowly lost to President Joe Biden. Trump has maintained his innocence in all the cases.
Cassidy weighed in on which of Trump's indictments he views as most serious during an appearance on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday morning.
"I think the charge that seems most likely—it seems almost a slam dunk—is the one related to the mishandling of classified documents," he said.
In this case, federal prosecutors accused Trump of removing classified documents from the White House when he left office in January 2021 and obstructed the government's efforts at retrieving the files. Trump has maintained his innocence, arguing that the Presidential Records Act allowed him to remove the documents. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing the case, has set a May 2024 start date for the trial.
Cassidy said federal prosecutors' case against the former president seems very strong, pointing to an audio recording showing Trump allegedly discuss a "highly confidential" document allegedly related to a potential attack on Iran. The tape, recorded during a July 2021 meeting with staffers, shows Trump saying: "See, as president, I could have declassified it. Now I can't, you know, but this is still a secret."
Trump, however, has dismissed the audio tape, saying that his words were merely bravado.
On Sunday, Cassidy warned that he believes Trump, if convicted of a crime by November 2024, would lose the presidential election to Biden, who is not expected to face major competition in the Democratic primary.
"If that is proven, then we may have a candidate for president who has been convicted of a crime. I think Joe Biden needs to be replaced, but I don't think Americans would vote for someone who has been convicted," he said.
The Republican senator added that Trump should drop out of the race. Still, he said he plans to vote for whichever Republican eventually wins the GOP primary election next year.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign for comment via email.
Cassidy was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump following the January 6, 2021, riot at the United States Capitol building, when a mob of his supporters, allegedly motivated by his unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud during the 2020 election, violently protested the election results at the Electoral College certification.
He has previously warned against the Republican Party's strong embrace of Trump, telling CNN in February 2021, "If we idolize one person, we will lose. And that's kind of clear from the last election."
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