During an appearance on MSNBC’s “The Katie Phang Show,” attorney and legal analyst Andrew Weissmann posited the possibility that former President Donald Trump may have recently engaged in criminal behavior.
Trump, the presumed 2024 GOP presidential nominee, is currently dealing with four criminal indictments. One of these indictments is in Washington, D.C., and is related to his involvement in the U.S. Capitol riot that took place on January 6, 2021.
On January 6, a group of Trump supporters forcefully entered the U.S. Capitol building in an attempt to halt the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election. The chaos unfolded as a result of President Trump’s persistent assertions that the election was unfairly taken away from him due to extensive voter fraud. However, it is important to note that these claims lack substantiating evidence.
The ex-president faces four federal felony charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. He has entered a plea of not guilty to all charges, asserting that the indictments are politically motivated.
During an interview with host Katie Phang on Saturday, Andrew Weissmann, the former general counsel for the FBI and lead prosecutor in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Trump’s 2016 campaign, recalled a specific moment in the D.C. case. He vividly remembers when the magistrate judge cautioned Donald Trump about the crucial condition of not engaging in any criminal activity.
During his arraignment hearing in August 2023, Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya issued a stern warning to Trump, ordering him to refrain from further violations of the law. As a condition of his bond, the judge emphasized that any future criminal offenses could result in the revocation of his release.
“Weissmann emphasized that threatening the president of the United States is a serious offense,” he stated. He further questioned whether the act of posting an image of Joe Biden, showing him bound and gagged with what appears to be a bullet hole in his head, can be considered as a form of threat.”
Weissmann was referring to a video that Trump shared on his social media platform Truth Social on Friday. In the video, a pick-up truck can be seen driving down a highway on Long Island, New York, with a decal that seemed to portray President Biden, Trump’s opponent in November’s election, being hog-tied as if he had been taken captive in the back of the truck.
In an email response to Newsweek on Sunday afternoon, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung expressed his opinion, stating, “Andrew Weissman [sic] is a cuck and suffers from Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Former Republican Representative Joe Walsh criticized the video, stating, “This goes beyond politics and is an incitement to violence.” Walsh, who previously served as the representative for Illinois’ 8th Congressional District and has since become a vocal conservative critic of Trump, expressed his concerns during an appearance on CNN on Saturday. He now identifies as an independent.
“Taking Trump’s incitement of political violence seriously is crucial, as evidenced by the brutal attack on Capitol police officers who risked their lives to protect our democracy on January 6,” emphasized Michael Tyler, the campaign’s communications director.
In a previous statement to multiple news outlets, Cheung expressed his views on the video, stating, “The picture was displayed on the back of a pickup truck that was driving along the highway. Not only have Democrats and fervent individuals called for abhorrent violence against President Trump and his family, but they are also actively exploiting the justice system to target him.”