Trump may have committed 'a technical violation of the Constitution,' not a crime, his lawyer says

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NBC News

Former President Donald Trump may have committed a “technical violation of the Constitution,” but doing so doesn’t mean he broke any criminal laws, John Lauro, Trump’s criminal defense attorney, argued on NBC’s “Meet the Press."

In an interview Sunday, Lauro appeared to signal how he’d defend the former president in a trial that will stem from the four-count criminal indictment returned last week by a federal grand jury that had been examining Trump’s possible role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

Pressed by NBC's Chuck Todd on Trump's alleged pressure campaign to get former Vice President Mike Pence to reverse the election, Lauro claimed that Trump and Pence had merely engaged in a disagreement over whether a vice president could constitutionally take actions that could lead to a presidential election being overturned.

“A technical violation of the Constitution is not a violation of criminal law," Lauro contended, calling it "just plain wrong" to suggest that Trump had pressed Pence to break the law. "And to say that is contrary to decades of legal statutes,” he continued.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/donald-trump-2020-election-indictment-lawyer-john-lauro-rcna98406

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[LakeArenal]

1. Yeah, but those pesky technicalities are gonna put your client in prison.

[Warpy]

2. HAHAHAHAHA!

Yeah, like murder victims are only technically dead if the family donated their organs and tissues.

[onetexan]

55. THIS!!☝️

[EndlessWire]

70. LOL! n/t

[Botany]

3. An attempted violent coup is not a technical violation of the Constitution it is illegal as hell.

So Trump's criminal defense attorney, Lauro is going for well my client did what he is charged
with but he really didn't break the law defense? Good luck with that idea.

[Galraedia]

15. It's down to "My client only violated the constitution, not criminal law".

Which is a weird way of saying, "My client only violated the supreme law of the land."

[Botany]

31. And just because the Constitution stipulates the transfer of power on a certain date after a ....

... Presidential election does not make it "the law of the land" just technicality and so by stopping
the transfer of power you are really not blocking anything illegally. I rest my case.

[LudwigPastorius]

41. "...and if my client is guilty of anything, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, it's of...

loving America too much!

If that's a crime, then I'M guilty of it, each and every one of YOU are guilty of it, the founding fathers were guilty of it, and every soldier who shed his blood to keep us free was guilty of it as well!

Now tell me, how...? HOW can you convict a man for that?"

[ananda]

43. Exellent logic!

You should be a lawyer.

[Botany]

57. Where did they find this guy?

Lionel Hutz, "My client violated the Constitution but he did not break the law."

[Midnight Writer]

32. As well as violated his Oath Of Office.

[RocRizzo55]

44. Exactly

Let's start with the emoluments clause.

[mpcamb]

69. It's important not to argue this. He's conceded it. Go for intent. That'll convict him!

[PortTack]

4. Oh aren't we all just SURE that Hague prosecutor Jack Smith is going to court with fingers and toes

Last edited Sun Aug 6, 2023, 01:58 PM - Edit history (1)

Crossed hoping that he can win cause tfg crimes are just technical violations

[agingdem]

5. "technical violation"??

so inciting an insurrection and targeting his VP for the "Hang Mike Pence" crowd is a sport?...who knew!!

[Justice matters.]

19. Yep. Gallows are just props in the reality-teevee show...

hair fuerhair is more dangerous to the United States government than bin Laden was to the Pentagon...

but he's still manipulating the justice system (too damn slow) and the electoral system (too damn long) to keep golfing instead of walking in prison.

[Walleye]

6. Against the same constitution that he swore an oath to protect and defend against all enemies?

[Galraedia]

7. Wow. The US Constitution is the supreme law of the land

You know you're fucked when your defense is "my client didn't violate criminal law, just the supreme law of the U.S. constitution."

[PatSeg]

28. You really have to feel for his lawyers (almost)

Look at what they have to work with.

I can't imagine what their lives will be like after working for Trump. Maybe they can get a job at Cinnabon?

[MyOwnPeace]

46. Aren't they......

going down with all of the closing malls?

[PatSeg]

61. Probably

So things are looking pretty bleak for them! Maybe McDonald's or Chipotle?

[LudwigPastorius]

8. A "technical violation", not a crime?

Is that like "California sober" or "Mar-a-Lago sane"?

[MOMFUDSKI]

11. You forgot

"alternate facts". lol

[PatSeg]

29. Ha, ha, ha!

Every day is opposite day in Trump world!

[getagrip_already]

9. He isn't being charged with pressing pence to break the law....

He is being charged with consiraracy to defraud the United States, to disrupt official govt proceedings, and to violate rights.

Nowhere in the charges is he charged with forcing pence to break the law, although pressuring pence to disrupt the official count is among the specifics cited to support the charges.

He isn't very good at this blurring thing. He is defending against something tfg isn't even charged with.

Shame on toadie for not pointing that out.

[NoMoreRepugs]

35. Chuck Toad really is a dumbass.

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

10. So as many of us suspected

It will be a pound the table defence, because they have neither the evidence nor the law on their side, and they know it.

Look, you stupid blood wanker, the DOJ hasn't charged your idiot client with a "technical" violation of the Constitution. He's being charged with violating several laws, specifically from US Code 18.

You wouldn't even be in court, nitwit, if it were merely some disagreement about a Constitutional matter.

Do keep up.

[Justice matters.]

22. That's what they expect to go whine at "their" supremely corrupt court with...

Well, they lost there before (when their appeal about the election being "stolen" got ignored).

[Alexander Of Assyria]

59. Mike Pence, star witness under oath, with contemporaneous notes, will nail the clown to the table.

[underpants]

12. Also says moving the trial to West Virginia will create a "more diverse" jury

Link to tweet

?s=46&t=3VBm1LJ8j8qLp6JTs_8J2A

[dalton99a]

13. Yeah, the Constitution says nothing about conspiracy

[Eyeball_Kid]

14. He's "reframing the narrative." IOW, he's lying.

It's done routinely by defense lawyers. And that's Trump's ONLY defense. "I really didn't commit a crime. It was a noncriminal behavior."

Blah, blah.

[Galraedia]

21. It might be done by defense lawyers when speaking to the public but good luck using it in court

I can't imagine any judge allowing a defense attorney to demonstrate to the jury such a complete lack of knowledge regarding the law to defend their client and I'm pretty sure it's grounds for disbarment. A lawyer can defend their client using their knowledge of the law. What they can't do is gaslight a jury into believing that the charge their client is charged with is not in fact a criminal charge.

[aax]

16. Sad.

Low energy.

[brush]

17. Oh, boy. They can come up with some duzies.

[Brainfodder]

18. I'm not corrupt, I'm just morally bankrupt?

[YDogg]

20. With apologies to fucking idiots, ...

... John Lauro is a fucking idiot. Who would debase themselves to defend the cretin who probably won't even be paying its bills?

[AnotherMother4Peace]

23. "technical violations of the Constitution"crimes,"alternate facts"lies,"alternate electors"fakes

[BlueIdaho]

26. Exactly what I was thinking!

These Bozos try to trivialize all TFG’s crimes. FWIW a rape is a rape, a lie is a lie, a seditious act is a seditious act, and a felony is still a felony worthy of a prison sentence no matter how these bizarro world hacks try to muddle these things.

Throw the book at this tyrant and make him die in prison for his actions.

[republianmushroom]

24. B.S. he has committed many crimes while in office.

Lock him up.

30 months and counting

[Mr. Ected]

25. Those constitutional technicalities were embodied in federal statutes

Which, if violated, are in fact felonies.

Back to the drawing board or whatever kind of chalkboard a parking lot attorney uses these days.

[ancianita]

27. Lauro sounds more like a PR hack than a lawyer.

That's a line any trumpculter could've come up with.

Not feeling entertained, but disdainful of this guy. Where did lawyers of MSNBC get the idea that he's a "good lawyer"? I heard them say that more than once.

One would think he's actually trying to sabotage his client's defense, or is too incompetent to even have a law license.

It's probably for his audience's consumption. Maybe an attempt to not raise expectations. Or at a more serious level, influence a public of potential jurors?

[Initech]

30. They're Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown at this point.

What a bunch of psychopaths.

[WestMichRad]

33. Grasping at straws

Or throwing stuff against a wall to see if anything sticks. Pick your favorite metaphor!

Desperate times (and having no real defense) call for desperate ideas.

Nothing is working? Delay, delay, delay!

[MyOwnPeace]

48. Kinda' pity the guy..(NO, not REALLY!)

Just listened to Neal Katyal on Al Franken’s podcast.
Neal think INSANITY is to ONLY possible defense tRump could possibly come close to making - and we KNOW that’ll never happen, no matter how EASY it would be to prove!

[WestMichRad]

54. I joking suggested...

in another post recently that his only recourse at this point might be to plead insanity. As absurd as it sounds, it might be the only way for him to avoid accountability this time. (Not that I’m trying to help the bastard!)

[sinkingfeeling]

34. Then what were those statute numbers in the indictment?

[truthisfreedom]

36. He's campaigning for orangie.

Why else would he say this out loud? Is he floating it to see how other better-educated lawyers reply on tv?

[LudwigPastorius]

37. I find it hilarious that every new lawyer that Trump trots out must be thinking to themselves,....

"I'M not going to be like all those others. I'm going to be the one to really defend him, the one he REALLY likes! The one he'll actually pay. The one who won't end up on charges."

That's just weapons-grade stupid.

[CaptainTruth]

38. Officer, it was just a technical violation of the speed limit.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

39. A violation of the US Constitution IS breaking the law!

How fucking stupid can John Lauro be?

Obviously he is NOT a Constitutional expert like Neal Katayal or Laurence Tribe.

[Ray Bruns]

72. Trump hired him, so pretty goddamn stupid.

[flashman13]

40. We have all been framing this as a battle between Trump and Smith. That is true only on a

superficial level. The actual case comes down to Trump's gaggle of second rate (no competent attorney of stature will give Trump the time of day) ambulance chasers versus Smith's legion of the best and brightest prosecutors in U.S. legal system.

I do hope the trial is televised. I want to see the Smith team beat down Lauro and his incompetent cohorts in open court. It will almost be unfair. I will find it very satisfying.

[Susan Calvin]

62. The American people are entitled to have it televised. nt

[Susan Calvin]

42. Chuck Todd pressed anybody on anything?? nt

[MyOwnPeace]

50. EVER?!?!?!?

[jmowreader]

45. Let's expand this out a bit, shall we

Joe Republican is on trial for bank robbery.

"Your Honor, my client is completely innocent of this charge. He technically withdrew money from the bank."

"Your client doesn't have an account at that bank."

"It is not a requirement that you have an account at THAT bank to withdraw money from it. It's a big banking company. Maybe he had an account at another branch."

"He wore a ski mask."

"My client can't stand cold weather."

"It was 85 degrees outside on the day in question."

"My client was born in Louisiana. To him, 85 degrees is winter weather."

"He used a gun."

"He didn't have a pen."

"They have pens in the bank."

"Come on, Your Honor. When have you ever seen a pen in a bank?"

"He yelled out, and I quote, 'put all the money in this bag or I'll blow your Mother Fucking head off.'"

"The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech to my client."

[MyOwnPeace]

51. DAMN YOU!

That may be the best chance they have for building a defense for them!

PS: You ain’t getting paid either!

[BumRushDaShow]

60. DUzy!

[Turbineguy]

47. If you're on the trump team

you gotta lie.

[intheflow]

49. Pure comedy gold!

And I am here for it!

[Martin68]

52. "'a technical violation of the Constitution,' not a crime" Hilarious! Dump just can't get good legal

advice anymore because he fired all the good ones and hired "yes men" instead.

[twodogsbarking]

53. Is this even his area of practice?

Smart man with stupid client.

[onetexan]

56. Alternative facts, anyone?

[Yavin4]

58. Technically, I didn't rob a bank bc I will spend the money which will just wind up back at

the bank.

So, I didn't commit a crime bc no crime was committed.

[EarthFirst]

63. So let's even pretend that to be accurate...

Isn’t the Constitution the absolute uber-patriot ‘law of the land’ to of which; no infringement shall be made.

So if their dearest has violated their most holy sacrament; why the undying cult like behavior to someone who has desecrated the very core of their beliefs?

Oh; right…

[Deminpenn]

64. Technical violation of the Constitution?

Wow. Yet another admission from Trump's own lawyer that Trump did the acts for which he is charged in the indictment. That's two. Andrew Weissman said those statements would qualify as "admissions" although the gov't would have to file some kind of motion to get them in at trial.

Saw a clip of Lauro on with CNN's Dana Bash, iirc, trotting out the First Amendment defense. She pushed back pretty hard on that. At one point, Lauro said that he hasn't seen any actions that were illegal. She looked at the indictment and said something like "where should I start?". Then she cut Lauro off and moved on to another question.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

65. Uh huh

Just remember Lauro, MAGA means my attorney got arrested.

[Novara]

66. THERE IS NO SUCH THING.

[Evolve Dammit]

67. Q) Why do they bury lawyers 12 feet deep instead of the traditional 6 feet?

A) Because deep down they're not bad guys.

Good lawyers exempted of course!

[Prairie_Seagull]

68. With this gaggle of lawyers and tfg at it's head-

I wonder if AI will play a role. Would not surprise me.

[EndlessWire]

71. What gets me is how

they pretend that none of us heard the audio or watched the video of the various documented crimes. He ran his mouth plenty and dug his hole.

We came really close to a coup by Trump and his buddies. It's gonna hurt for a long time. This newest lawyer Lauro is just thinking up anything he thinks he can hang a MAGA hat on.

Have you noticed his interview style? Keep talking and mumbling over the person trying to talk, so they can't get a word in edgewise. If you hear something logical, whine about it. I suppose that there are those that eat it up, but most people find that style very irritating.

[Ray Bruns]

73. Fucking lawyers

[world wide wally]

74. What other kinds of violations of the Constitution are there?