Rachel Maddow says Trump thought the Justice Department would never convict him.
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On “The Last Word” with Lawrence O’Donnell, Maddow said:
I mean why he did it. The reason you keep talking about it, acknowledging that you took the stuff, coming up with multiple often self-contradictory explanations as to why you have the stuff, the reason you volunteer all this information is because you totally believe that there’s no chance of anyone ever charging you for it .
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I mean, part of the truth — part of what I think former President Trump brings to this confrontation with the Department of Justice is that in the past he got rid of things other people were accused of. So, I think his willingness to discuss these things, in ways that now, with the indictment, seem so damning, seemed so damning at the time, this particular damned in the past, that’s directive. Direct evidence that he does not believe he is liable to indictment. Didn’t think they would. He didn’t think they would because of who he was. And because of what he might threaten this country with.
He should accuse him. Seeing when he was indicted in New York, he called on his supporters to protest. to take to the streets. to fight. Nobody did. I don’t know if he would do the same. Or how he will do it, in relation to what will happen on Tuesday. Such was the tacit and sometimes explicit threat of what he would do about what kind of insurance policy he had for what he planned to do in the country.Try if the state plans to hold him accountable. This card is still on the table, this point is not turned overs.
Trump thought he had the right to break the law. Trump said before being sworn in that he believes presidents are above the law. He carried that belief into the White House and beyond. Trump believes that former presidents have executive privilege.
What Rachel Maddow said makes perfect sense. Trump never thought the Justice Department would indict him, which is why he has publicly admitted to crimes on television.
Donald Trump had the illusion that he was above the law that Jack Smith had broken, and even if he threatened violence, the former president could not stop the wheels of justice.
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Jason is the Managing Editor. He is also the White House press reporter and congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and professional memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association
