Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissman said “this is game over” for former President Trump in the classified and sensitive documents case against him after the release of the tape that appears to show Trump discussing documents he had in his possession.
Weissman told MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell on Monday that the public should remember that prosecutors for special counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing the investigation, have had the tape of Trump discussing documents he did not declassify before it was publicized.
He said Smith’s team has likely interviewed everyone who was in the room with Trump from the recording except the former president himself. He said this would allow prosecutors to have all accounts of what happened while Trump was speaking.
“And so, the big picture here, I think for people is… this is game over if you are following the facts and the law,” Weissman said.
CNN first obtained the recording of Trump discussing the classified documents during a July 2021 meeting at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J. The conversation is mentioned in the indictment filed against Trump earlier this month.
The discussion happened during an interview with an author and book publisher who were working on a memoir for former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, according to the indictment. Two Trump staffers were also present.
On the recording, Trump is heard discussing pieces of classified information about a potential planned attack on Iran.
Weissman said Trump is not charged with dissemination of national defense information, only that he continued to possess it, but that could be proven, and the tape is “absolutely clear.”
“This is a question now of simply, will the government get a trial before the general election, will a jury actually follow the law and the facts, and will the electorate follow the facts and care? That’s really what this is about,” he said.
Weissman added that the tape is only one piece of a “massive mountain” of evidence against Trump.
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Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissman said “this is game over” for Trump after the release of the tape that appears to show Trump discussing documents he had in his possession. https://t.co/iSKaTx01E1
— The Hill (@thehill) June 27, 2023
Former President Trump claimed without providing details that a newly released audio recording of him discussing a “highly confidential” document “actually an exoneration.” https://t.co/1Jk5aaFBsT
— The Hill (@thehill) June 27, 2023
Yes, that’s all Trump is saying to his minions, go out and “explain” to Jack Smith’s “family” how the Presidential Records Act works as confirmed by the Clinton socks case. pic.twitter.com/arAdrurNlW
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) June 27, 2023
Speaking as a Watergate historian, there’s nowhere on thousands of hours of Nixon tapes where Nixon makes any comment as clear, as clearly illegal, and as clearly self-aware as this Trump tape. https://t.co/JFqyfcQb8g
— Garrett M. Graff (@vermontgmg) June 27, 2023
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