Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann warned how President Donald Trump could seriously come to regret new efforts to investigate former special counsel Jack Smith.
The Office of Special Counsel confirmed this weekend it has opened a probe into whether Smith violated the Hatch Act, a law that restricts political activity by federal employees, during his handling of the criminal cases brought against Trump. Republicans have demanded the investigation.
Appearing on MSNBC, Weissmann suggested it lacked legal merit and questioned the logic behind the GOP’s strategy.
“If they were actually to bring a case, this is the last thing that you would think the Trump administration and Trump himself would want,” said Weissmann, who served on Robert Mueller’s special counsel team during the Russia probe.
“Trump spent years trying to avoid — and largely being successful at avoiding — any of these cases going to trial. And if he’s going to have a trial here, that’s going to be a forum for Jack Smith and people to put on the evidence that he has tried for so long to avoid,” he added.
Weissmann’s fellow panelists appeared to agree, nodding and smiling at his take.
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