Former President Donald Trump and former Attorney General William Barr had a very public falling out, and the tension between the two powerful men has never been as thick as it is now.
According to CBS News, even though legal scholars have heavily scrutinized Special Counsel Jack Smith's latest indictment against Trump for his alleged actions after the 2020 election, Barr essentially believes the case is good to go and based on sound legal footing.
Many, including some of America's top legal experts, believe Trump is likely protected by the First Amendment in the latest indictment, but Barr has a differing view.
"It's certainly a challenging case, but I don't think it runs afoul of the First Amendment," Barr told "Face the Nation" on Sunday. "From a prosecutor's standpoint, I think it's a legitimate case."
It's difficult to take his assertion seriously, given that he's firmly in the anti-Trump camp.
However, Barr believes that the indictment is about more than First Amendment protections. The former AG said he would dismiss the case if it didn't go any further than that.
"If that was all it was about, I would be concerned on a First Amendment front," Barr said.
Congress should investigate Bill Barr: Bill Barr says the First Amendment will not protect Donald Trump from charges of trying to overturn the election: 'Free speech does not entitle you to engage in a fraudulent conspiracy'
via https://t.co/2FIvuL98TE https://t.co/4b18RX17J1— Lou Dobbs (@LouDobbs) August 3, 2023
"This involved a situation where the states had already made the official and authoritative determination as to who won in those states and they sent the votes and certified them to Congress," Barr said.
The former AG added, "The allegation, essentially, by the government is that at that point, the president conspired, entered into a plan, a scheme, that involved a lot of deceit, the object of which was to erase those votes, to nullify those lawful votes."
Barr went on to explain that he believes that since the states had already formally accepted the results, Smith is trying to prove that Trump concocted a "scheme" to overturn the results.
"This involved a situation where the states had already made the official and authoritative determination as to who won in those states and they sent the votes and certified them to Congress," Barr said.
"The allegation, essentially, by the government is that at that point, the president conspired, entered into a plan, a scheme, that involved a lot of deceit, the object of which was to erase those votes, to nullify those lawful votes."
Some legal experts, such as Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz, believe that particular indictment will be thrown out at the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court. Only time will tell.
