Former Donald Trump lawyer Ty Cobb, who after working for the former President (and current President-elect) became a top critic of Trump’s conduct — both personal and legal — asserted Trump never had a “factual” defense against the alleged crimes he was indicted for after his presidency.
As Special Counsel Jack Smith this week drops the federal cases the DOJ was pursuing against Trump — due to DOJ lack of mandate to prosecute a sitting president — Cobb reiterated Trump’s strategy about all the legal cases against him. That strategy was to remain elusive and delay, while pursuing the equivalent of a “get out of jail free” card from voters in the election.
Cobb concedes that the strategy worked, telling Erin Burnett at CNN that once the “American people bestowed the presidency” on Trump, it put him beyond the reach of the law — adding a final layer of protection even more comprehensive than that bestowed by the Supreme Court’s decision to grant a broad presidential immunity for “official” acts of a president.
“Keep in mind that Trump’s defense throughout this has never been factual,” Cobb told CNN. “There’s really no debate about the facts and there’s no debate that the facts constitute crimes.”
Cobb now describes Trump’s mindset as he battled his legal troubles as the mindset of a defiant fugitive a step beyond the law’s reach. Instead of mounting a defense based on facts, which Cobb portrays as very likely a losing strategy, Trump tried to put himself in a position to avoid the consequences of the facts — and he did it.
“What the debate has always been, in Trump’s mind, is ‘No, no, no, you can’t get me,’” Cobb said. “And that proved to be true…they ran out of time.”
Cobb, who spoke frequently about Trump’s legal problems before they all disappeared with the election, often talked about evidence and facts in the case — none of which remains relevant. Flashback to a year ago below.
Ty Cobb, Trump’s former White House lawyer, says Trump’s alleged voter fraud report he’s presenting Monday could be used as “evidence against him”. (Video: CNN) pic.twitter.com/08VUx3uOyX
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) August 16, 2023