JOHN YOO, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: “WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PRESIDENCY AND OUR CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM…”
Video transcript
So, John, you have a piece out today that you say this trial has already affected, essentially, the office of the presidency. And you suggest that there may need to be some pushing back, you say, from the other side of the aisle. But do you worry now that we've kind of crossed a line at which politics has always been difficult, but much more of a blood sport? And do you worry that our legal process is being pulled into that and, you know, the idea that both sides should consider using that as a weapon? Yes, Shannon, I think for all of us, all of us Americans, it's not as important what happens to President Trump as a person. What's important is what happens to the presidency in our constitutional system. What does this mean for future presidents? And the weaker that these cases are, the weaker that brags cases, the weaker that Michonne allows a case like this to go forward and get to the jury, the bigger the door is open for any D.A. in the future to bring charges against the president from the opposite party that they don't like. That kind of harassment of presidents is going to cause them to worry about their legal liability when what they should be doing is focusing on making the toughest decisions on behalf of the American people, on behalf of protecting the country. And so, yes, I really do worry. And I think that the only way to put a stop to this, sadly, is for some Republican D.A.s to prosecute Democratic office holders, Democratic executive branch officials, Hunter Biden, maybe even Joe Biden. That's the only way, I think, to put a stop to this. Otherwise, what we've seen is the crossing of a constitutional Rubicon where suing presidential predecessors is going to just be the norm. Well, and so much of what you had to say in that answer, John, touches on those immunity arguments we had at the Supreme Court about the possibility that an incumbent who is running again or loses and worries about what is going to come from his predecessor, we'll have to see it because we wait on the Supreme Court for that decision. We'll get opinions again next Thursday. Could be that soon. John, thank you very much. Great to see you, Shannon.
Transcribed automatically. Expect errors in names and numbers.