Former President Donald Trump’s legal woes are set to intensify according to the prediction of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara that the Department of Justice was preparing to charge the former President.
Bharara makes his comments in the latest episode of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” telling moderator Chuck Todd that two of those on the DOJ’s recently appointed special counsel team are “very seasoned prosecutors.” He asserts the Justice Department recruited these prosecutors to determine if the DOJ could try a case in court.
Bharara expressed his doubts that either would leave their former positions “in government and private practice” unless the DOJ were “on a path to charge,” Something Bharara believes would occur “in a month.”
Last month, veteran prosecutor Jack Smith was named special counsel in the DOJ’s investigations into the former President, including the probe into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents.
Many experts believe Trump’s alleged mishandling of documents, which includes storing hundreds of classified materials in his Mar-a-Lago home, is the most likely probe to head to trial.
However, Bharara — who formerly held a role in New York’s Southern District’s U.S. attorneys office — noted that prosecutors “generally” wouldn’t proceed with taking the case to trial unless there’s a considerable likelihood for success.
He also acknowledged that any case brought against the former President would be “heavily politicized and historic,” requiring the DOJ to have its “ducks in a row.”
The case would have to be “strong,” according to Bharara, as the DOJ has to convince a jury and the American public that the case is “righteous” and “meritorious.”
