Current:Home > MarketsBarr says Trump prosecution is "legitimate case" and doesn't "run afoul of the First Amendment"-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Barr says Trump prosecution is "legitimate case" and doesn't "run afoul of the First Amendment"
View Date:2024-12-24 00:46:37
Washington — Former Attorney General WIlliam Barr dismissed the argument that the election interference case against former President Donald Trump is not valid because his statements were protected by the First Amendment.
"It's certainly a challenging case, but I don't think it runs afoul of the First Amendment," Barr told "Face the Nation" on Sunday. "From a prosecutor's standpoint, I think it's a legitimate case."
- Transcript: William Barr on "Face the Nation"
Trump's legal team argues he was indicted for political speech that was protected by the First Amendment. The indictment itself acknowledges that Trump "had a right, like every American, to speak publicly about the election and even to claim, falsely, that there had been outcome-determinative fraud during the election and that he had won."
"If that was all it was about, I would be concerned on a First Amendment front," Barr said.
But Trump's alleged actions went beyond political speech, he said.
"This involved a situation where the states had already made the official and authoritative determination as to who won in those states and they sent the votes and certified them to Congress," Barr said. "The allegation, essentially, by the government is that at that point, the president conspired, entered into a plan, a scheme, that involved a lot of deceit, the object of which was to erase those votes, to nullify those lawful votes."
"The other elements were the substitution of bogus panels — that were not authorized panels — to claim that they had alternative votes," he said. "And that was clearly wrong and the certifications they signed were false. But then pressuring the vice president to use that as a pretext to adopt the Trump votes and reject the Biden votes or even to delay it — it really doesn't matter whether it's to delay it or to adopt it or to send it to the House of Representatives. You have to remember a conspiracy crime is completed at the time it's agreed to and the first steps are taken. That's when the crime is complete."
Special counsel Jack Smith brought four felony charges against Trump last week in the 2020 election interference case, 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. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
Barr declined to say whether he was interviewed by the special counsel during the investigation, but said he would "of course" appear as a witness if called.
The former attorney general, who resigned from the Trump administration in December 2020, said he told Trump on at least three occasions that "in no uncertain terms that there was no evidence of fraud that would have changed the outcome."
- In:
- William Barr
- First Amendment
- Donald Trump
- Jack Smith
Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hausofcait
TwitterveryGood! (663)
Related
- FBI raids New York City apartment of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan, reports say
- `Worse than people can imagine’: Medicaid `unwinding’ breeds chaos in states
- Trump eyes radical immigration shift if elected in 2024, promising mass deportations and ideological screenings
- Looking to invest? Here's why it's a great time to get a CD.
- RHOBH's Kyle Richards Addresses PK Kemsley Cheating Rumors in the Best Way Possible
- Santa Fe considers tax on mansions as housing prices soar
- Prince William Reveals Prince George Is a Budding Athlete
- He lured them into his room promising candy, police say. Now he faces 161 molestation charges
- New Jersey will issue a drought warning after driest October ever and as wildfires rage
- Trump sons downplay involvement with documents at center of New York fraud trial
Ranking
- A wayward sea turtle wound up in the Netherlands. A rescue brought it thousands of miles back home
- Trump classified documents trial could be delayed, as judge considers schedule changes
- Martin Scorsese’s Daughter Francesca Shares Insight Into His Bond With Timothée Chalamet
- Cedar Fair and Six Flags will merge to create a playtime powerhouse in North America
- What Just Happened to the Idea of Progress?
- Video captures final screams of pro cyclist Mo Wilson after accused killer Kaitlin Armstrong tracked her on fitness app, prosecutor says
- Disney reaches $8.6 billion deal with Comcast to fully acquire Hulu
- Michael Phelps and Pregnant Wife Nicole Reveal Sex of Baby No. 4
Recommendation
-
'I heard it and felt it': Chemical facility explosion leaves 11 hospitalized in Louisville
-
Succession’s Alan Ruck Involved in 4-Vehicle Car Crash at Hollywood Pizzeria
-
Hailey Bieber Models Calvin Klein's Holiday Collection ... & It's On Sale
-
With interest rates unchanged, small businesses continue to struggle: I can't grow my business
-
Catholic bishops urged to boldly share church teachings — even unpopular ones
-
Experts call Connecticut city’s ‘mishandled ballots’ a local and limited case, but skeptics disagree
-
Takeaways from AP’s reporting on an American beef trader’s links to Amazon deforestation
-
Tori Spelling Spotted Packing on the PDA With New Man Amid Dean McDermott Breakup