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Donald Trumps incendiary call at a Texas rally for his backers to ready massive protests against radical, vicious, racist prosecutors could constitute obstruction of justice or other crimes and backfire legally on Trump, say former federal prosecutors.

Trumps barbed attack was seen as carping against separate federal and state investigations into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and into his real estate empire.

Trumps rant that his followers should launch the biggest protests ever in three cities should prosecutors do anything wrong or illegal by criminally charging him over his efforts to overturn Joe Bidens victory, or for business tax fraud, came at a 30 January rally in Texas where he repeated falsehoods that the election was rigged.

Legal experts were astonished at Trumps strong hints that if he runs and wins a second term in 2024, he would pardon many of those charged for attacking the Capitol on 6 January last year in hopes of thwarting Bidens certification by Congress.

Former Nixon White House counsel John Dean attacked Trumps talk of pardons for the rioters as the stuff of dictators, and stressed that failure to confront a tyrant only encourages bad behavior.

Taken together, veteran prosecutors say Trumps comments seemed to reveal that the former president now feels more legal jeopardy from the three inquiries in Atlanta, Washington and New York, all of which have accelerated since the start of 2022.

Trumps anxiety was palpable when he urged supporters at the Texas rally to stage the biggest protests we have ever had in Washington DC, in New York, in Atlanta and elsewhere, should any charges be brought, a plea for help that could boomerang and create more legal problems for the former president.

Dennis Aftergut, a former federal prosecutor who is of counsel to Lawyers Defending American Democracy, told the Guardian that Trump may have shot himself in the foot with the comments. Criminal intent can be hard to prove, but when a potential defendant says something easily seen as intimidating or threatening to those investigating the case it becomes easier, Aftergut said.

Aftergut added that having proclaimed his support for the insurrectionists, Trump added evidence of his corrupt intent on January 6 should the DoJ prosecute him for aiding the seditious conspiracy, or for impeding an official proceeding of Congress.

Likewise, a former US attorney in Georgia, Michael Moore, said Trumps comments could potentially intimidate witnesses and members of a grand jury, noting that it is a felony in Georgia to deter a witness from testifying before a grand jury.

Trump is essentially calling for vigilante justice against the justice system. Hes not interested in the pursuit of justice but blocking any investigations, Moore added.

Trumps angry outburst came as three investigations by prosecutors that could lead to charges against Trump or top associates all seemed to gain steam last month.

A special grand jury, for example, was approved in Atlanta focused on Trumps call to Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger on 2 January last year, asking him to just find enough votes to block Joe Bidens Georgia victory, a state Trump lost by more than 11,700 votes.

Trumps call for huge protests prompted the Fulton county district attorney, Fani Willis, who is leading the criminal inquiry, to ask the FBI to compile a threat assessment to protect her office and the grand jury that is slated to meet in May.

Last month too, a top justice official revealed that the DoJ is investigating fake elector certifications declaring Trump the winner in several states he lost, a scheme reportedly pushed by Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani by which vice-president Mike Pence could block Congress from certifying Bidens win. To Trumps chagrin, Pence rejected the plan.

Further, the New York state attorney general last month stated in a court document that investigators had found evidence that Trumps real-estate business used fraudulent or misleading asset valuations to obtain loans and tax benefits, allegations Trump and his lawyers called politically motivated.

Ex-prosecutors say that Trumps Texas comments are dangerous and could legally boomerang, as the prosecutors appear to have new momentum.

Our criminal laws seek to hold people accountable for their purposeful actions, Paul Pelletier, a former acting chief of the fraud section at the DoJ, said. Trumps history of inciting people to violence demonstrates that his recent remarks are likely to cause a disruption of the pending investigations against him and family members.

Pelletier added: Should his conduct actually impede any of these investigations, federal and state obstruction statutes could easily compound Mr Trumps criminal exposure.

Trumps remarks resonated especially in Georgia, where former prosecutors say he may now face new legal problems.

Aftergut noted that Willis understood the threat when she quickly asked the FBI to provide protection at the courthouse, and he predicted that the immediate effect on the deputy DAs working on the case would be to energize them in pursuing the case.

In a similar vein, Norm Eisen, a former diplomat and the States United Democracy Center co-chair said Trumps call for protests in Atlanta, New York and Washington if prosecutors there charge him, certainly sounds like a barely veiled call for violence. Thats particularly true when you combine it with his other statements at the Texas rally about how the last crowd of insurrectionists are being mistreated and did no wrong.

In addition, congresswoman Liz Cheney, the co-chair of the House panel investigating the 6 January Capitol assault by Trump followers, has stated that Trumps talk of pardons and encouraging new protests suggests he would do it all again, if given the chance.

On another legal front, Aftergut pointed out that some Trump comments at the rally might help prosecutors at the DoJ expand their inquiry. He said: Trump handed federal prosecutors another gift when he said that Mike Pence should have overturned the election.

Some veteran consultants say Trumps latest attacks on prosecutors shows he is growing more nervous as investigations appear to be getting hotter.

Trumps prosecutor attacks are wearing thin with the broad Republican electorate, said Arizona Republican consultant Chuck Coughlin. Hes trying to whip up the base for his personal gain. This is another iteration of Trumps attacks on the government.

From a broader perspective, Moore stressed that Trumps multiple attacks on the legal system at the Texas rally represent just another erosion of the norms of a civilized society by Trump. The truth has taken a back seat to Trumpism.

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Trumps incendiary Texas speech may have deepened his legal troubles, experts say - The Guardian

Donald Trump has made clear time and time again that, in his view, the worst thing that can happen to a person is to be judged a loser. In the 2020 presidential election he was, in fact, a loser, but his narcissism and the incredibly fragile self-esteem that undergirds it wont allow him to accept that reality. He has spent the past 15 months attempting to overthrow the election in an effort to make himself the winner and, after that effort failed, rewriting the narrative, portraying himself as a victim of THE CRIME OF THE CENTURY.

Almost every public comment Trump makes these days is focused on the election. Americas 45th president said in a statement last week that his vice president, Mike Pence, should have overturned the election. In a speech, he indicated that if he were to become president again, hed likely pardon the people who on January 6, 2021, violently stormed the Capitol to stop the certification of the election, part of his ongoing effort to turn insurrectionists and those charged with seditious conspiracy into martyrs. He also warned that he would incite unrest if prosecutors who are investigating him and his businesses took action against him.

Trumps mind has no room to entertain any other thoughts, at least not for long. His defeat is his obsession; it has pulled him into a deep, dark place. He wants to pull the rest of us into it as well.

I discuss Trump in psychological terms because I have said for a half-dozen yearsand previously in these pagesthat the most important thing to understand about Trump is his disordered personality; its the only way to even begin to think about how to deal with him. (Im not the only person to think that.)

Trump seems unable to incorporate anything critical about himself, hence his need to create an imaginary world in which he really won the 2020 election but was the victim of a conspiracy that borders on intergalactic. Hes performed a moral inversion in which the supporters who stormed the Capitol are the true patriots; they, like he, are being unfairly persecuted. They are the defenders of democracy; the people who are holding them accountable are the enemies of America.

Another reason Trumps mindset matters is that millions of his followerspassionate, committed, incensed, aggrieved, and absolutely sure they are right and righteoushave entered his hall of mirrors. To understand the GOP, one must understand Trump. Its true that his hold on the party has weakened some since he left office; that was inevitable. But he is still far and away the dominant figure in the GOP and, at this juncture at least, its mostly likely presidential nominee in 2024. As Shane Goldmacher and Maggie Haberman of The New York Times put it, the Republican Party is very much still Mr. Trumps, transforming his lies about a stolen 2020 election into an article of faith, and even a litmus test that he is seeking to impose on the 2022 primaries with the candidates he backs. He is the partys most coveted endorser, its top fund-raiser and the polling front-runner for the 2024 presidential nomination.

Read: Trump fans have found their safe space

The Trump era has conditioned many in the Republican Party to think like he doesand those who dont are too afraid to speak out against his malicious transgressions. Even Republican Senator Susan Collins of Mainewho voted to impeach Trump, who represents a blue state, who isnt up for reelection for four years, and who clearly views Trump as a threat to American democracybobbed and weaved when she was asked if she would support Trump in 2024. The proper response would have been: of course not!

As if to prove that the GOP is now an instrument of Trumps obsession, late last week Republican leaders meeting in Salt Lake City censured Representative Adam Kinzinger and Representative Liz Cheney because of their work on the January 6 committee. The Republican National Committee also announced that it would fund Cheneys primary opponent.

Cheney and Kinzinger engaged in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens who engaged in legitimate political discourse, the Republican National Committees chair, Ronna McDaniel, said. McDaniels words were echoed in the censure, which accused Cheney and Kinzinger of participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.

Even in a Trump-led party, it is stunning that Republican leaders would seek to whitewash a violent attack on the Capitol to overturn a presidential election. This is not just moral degradation; it is moral nihilism.

McDaniels insistence, after a great deal of blowback, that legitimate political discourse referred only to nonviolent protesters isnt convincing. For one thing, there is no persecutionto use the language from the RNC resolutionby the January 6 congressional committee aimed at people who gathered peacefully before the assault on the Capitol. For another, Trumps dangling of a pardon could apply only to those who were arrested for attacking the Capitol. And in a resolution in which the events of January 6 were central, the RNC did not see fit to say a single critical word about the violent mob that stormed the Capitol. That is itself quite telling.

Amanda Carpenter, who once worked for Senator Ted Cruz, put it well: The fact the RNC is censuring Cheney and Kinzinger for investigating January 6 and not condemning Trump for causing January 6 is absolutely demented.

Even The Wall Street Journal editorial page felt compelled to issue this warning: Republicans should not get within 10 miles of defending the Capitol riot. What is to be gained by the RNCs indulgence of President Trumps vendettas? The answer, of course, is that they may be true believersand even if they arent, they understand, perhaps better than The Journals editorial writers, what MAGA world is demanding.

To put this indulgence in perspective, contrast the behavior of the Republican Party in the United States with the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. As Mark Landler, the Times London-bureau chief, has noted, Tory members of Parliament have been far more critical of Prime Minister Boris Johnsonwho didnt incite an attack on the House of Commons but did host drinking parties during lockdownthan Republicans have been critical of Trump. The Tory party understands the distinction between partisan loyalty and craven, unpatriotic fealty; the Republican Party does not.

Ive sensed lately that some people on the rightindividuals who defended Trump at virtually every turn in his presidency but knew privately, deep in their heart, that they had made moral accommodations they werent proud ofwish the rest of us would just move on from Trump. Media coverage of the former president brings to the foreground the cost of their Faustian bargain.

Shortly after the election, some of us tried to move on. But unfortunately, Trump and MAGA world had something different in mindundermining trust in our elections, storming the Capitol, propagating malicious and destructive lies. There is now an entire media industryRight Wing Inc.built around the distorted and disturbed mind of Donald J. Trump.

Read: Trump is making the midterms a referendum on himself

A wise conservative friend of mine who is a critic of the left recently told me, At the elite level, the Republican Party is much worse than the Democratic Party when it comes to the health of American democracy. It is led by, and defined by, Trump, who wants to attack our institutions at every level.

So he does, and so he has. Trump was dangerous, his mind disordered, before; hes more dangerous, his mind more disordered, now. Hes obsessed and enraged, consumed by vengeance, and moving us closer to political violence. His behavior needs attention not because of the past but because of the future. A second Trump term would make the first one look like a walk in the park.

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Trump Is Obsessed With Being a Loser - The Atlantic

The simmering tensions between former President TrumpDonald TrumpAbrams fires back at Perdue, Kemp over criticism of maskless photo Biden to visit Israel later this year Manchin crosses party lines in officially endorsing Murkowski MORE and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantisRon DeSantisDeSantis, state AGs pledge to investigate GoFundMe removing page for Canadian vaccine mandate protest The Hill's 12:30 Report: Strong jobs report surprises economists Michelle Obama: Democrats' 2024 'break glass in case of emergency' candidate MORE (R) are looming over the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), where both men are set to give highly anticipated speeches later this month.

With Trump eyeing a political comeback and DeSantis seen as a potential contender for the 2024 GOP presidential bid, the high-profile gathering in Orlando, Fla., offers a prime opportunity to take the temperature of the Republican base and pitch their political brands to the conservative activists and leaders who will play a major role in boosting the partys next presidential nominee.

But the conference also has the potential to highlight and possibly even deepen the emerging divide between Trump and DeSantis, stirring both worry and intrigue within the GOP.

I think he definitely feels threatened by the governor, one GOP donor, who has given to both Trump and DeSantis, said of the former president. I cant necessarily blame him, because there are a lot of people right now who are very interested in what Ron DeSantis has to say, and I think thats especially true at CPAC.

Trump has griped behind the scenes for months about DeSantiss rapid political rise, including chatter about a future White House bid. Fueling the complaints is the Florida governors apparent refusal to say publicly that he wont challenge Trump in 2024 should the former president mount another campaign for the White House.

The donor said that while Trump has clung to the same talking points most notably his baseless claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him DeSantis is talking about Joe Biden, hes talking about freedom from COVID lockdowns, hes looking forward and not backward.

Its unclear whether Trump and DeSantis will appear together or separately during CPAC a common stop for conservative leaders and ambitious Republican politicians and the conferences organizers havent yet released the speaking schedule.

Trump and DeSantis also wont be the only potential 2024 contenders to appear at the gathering. Former Secretary of State Mike PompeoMike PompeoSunday shows preview: US deploys troops, briefs lawmakers amid Russia-Ukraine tensions Five key things to know about the US raid that killed ISIS leader Trump's political operation enters 2022 with 2 million in the bank MORE is also slated to speak.

To be sure, its unlikely that there will be any sort of public blowup between Trump and DeSantis at CPAC.

While the former president has complained privately about the Florida governor, hes taken only veiled shots at him in public. For instance, in an interview with the conservative One America News Network last month, Trump knocked gutless politicians who refuse to say whether they have received a COVID-19 booster shot. DeSantis has repeatedly dodged questions about his booster status.

Keith Naughton, a veteran Republican strategist, said that Trump is also constrained in his ability to attack DeSantis, noting the Florida governors rising popularity among Republican voters, as well as the fact that hes up for reelection this year.

Anyone who has come close to him, hes knocked them down, Naughton said. His problem now though is that DeSantis is really popular among Republicans, and Trump obviously doesnt want a Democrat being governor of Florida.

With Trump, its all about Trump all the time and DeSantis is homing in on that, Naughton added. So now Trump is constrained on how he can attack him.

Trump, DeSantis and their allies have worked to tamp down chatter that their relationship has become strained. In a recent interview with Fox News host Sean HannitySean Patrick HannitySupreme Court should look more like America, or so Republicans once thought These people have been subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 panel Kayleigh McEnany turned over text messages to Jan. 6 panel: report MORE, Trump insisted that he has a very good relationship with Ron.

For his part, DeSantis has accused the media of pushing a false narrative around his relationship with Trump, while dismissing speculation about a potential 2024 presidential run as nonsense. He has said repeatedly that hes focused on carrying out his duties as governor and running for reelection this year.

Still, Trump has been keeping a close watch on the Florida governor as he sizes up the potential competition ahead of 2024. One former Trump aide said that DeSantis could also easily dispel any notion of tension with Trump by pledging not to seek the GOP nomination if the former president does. CPAC could be a good opportunity for DeSantis to kiss the ring, the aide said.

Show that hes still loyal to the president and let everyone know that he has no intention of challenging him, the aide said. Donald Trump is still the leader of the party, so take the opportunity to show were all united here.

Trump is still the heavy favorite among Republican voters for the 2024 presidential nomination, with early polling showing him dominating the field of potential contenders. Still, DeSantis routinely polls in second place among would-be GOP presidential hopefuls and gains significant ground when Trump is taken out of the running.

Within Florida, DeSantis appears to be an even more potent force.A Suffolk University/USA Today pollof likely voters in the Sunshine State still showed DeSantis trailing Trump in a hypothetical primary match-up, though by a much smaller margin only about 7 percentage points.

That same survey found DeSantis outperforming Trump in a hypothetical head-to-head race against President BidenJoe BidenBiden to visit Israel later this year Working class insecurity and Build Back Better Experts open the door to lifting last mask mandates MORE. DeSantis led the incumbent president 52 percent to 44 percent, while Trump held a narrower 47 percent to 44 percent lead.

Nevertheless, Trump already has a massive edge over any potential challenger. He has virtually universal name recognition nationwide and a massive war chest to fund his political operation. He announced earlier this week that his affiliated political groups entered 2022 with more than $122 million in the bank.

Yet while Trump may be the 2024 hopeful to beat right now, Naughton, the Republican strategist, said that CPAC attendees will be closely watching DeSantis, arguing that the former presidents political hold on the GOP has already begun to slip.

The story of CPAC will be that Trump gets a huge reception, everyone will say that they love Trump. Hell get wild cheers, Naughton said. But behind the scenes, people are going to be thinking we need somebody else who can win. Theyre going to be checking out DeSantis and sizing him up as a potential replacement.

Thats really the story of the past year and going into this next year, he added.

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Trump, DeSantis tensions shadow this year's CPAC | TheHill - The Hill

A memoir by the former defense secretary, Mark T. Esper, about his tenure in the Trump administration will be published with minimal redactions after he sued the agency he once led because it wanted to block information in the manuscript, his lawyer said on Friday.

The announcement brought an end to a battle between Mr. Esper and the Defense Department over what material was considered classified and therefore could not be included in his book, titled A Sacred Oath, which is set to be published in May.

Mr. Esper, who was fired by former President Donald J. Trump shortly after he lost re-election in the 2020 race, sued the Department of Defense in November, accusing agency officials of improperly blocking parts of his book under the guise of classification.

Mr. Espers lawyer, Mark S. Zaid, said in a statement on Friday that they had dropped the lawsuit after the Pentagon reversed its decisions about an overwhelming majority of the portions of the book that it had earlier said were classified.

Mr. Zaid said Mr. Esper thought that the remaining redactions to the book were also improper but that they were not central to the book.

Frankly, Secretary Esper has no interest in publishing properly classified information, which he has sworn to and protected for decades, Mr. Zaid said in the statement.

The Defense Department did respond directly to a request for comment about the end of the lawsuit.

There are no changes to the Departments prepublication security and policy review, it said on Saturday. The purpose of Department of Defense prepublication security and policy review is to ensure information damaging to the national security is not inadvertently disclosed.

In the departments prepublication review of Mr. Espers manuscript, it redacted more than 50 pages of the book that absolutely gutted substantive content and important story lines, Mr. Zaid said. This included accounts of some of Mr. Espers interactions with Mr. Trump and his views on actions taken by other countries, according to the lawsuit.

The prepublication review system is meant to stop current and former employees of the executive branch from sharing information that is classified and could damage national security if released, but Mr. Esper was not the first Trump administration official to encounter trouble during the process.

In 2020, a career official who oversaw the prepublication review of a book by John R. Bolton, a national security adviser in the Trump administration, accused White House aides of improperly politicizing the manuscript review.

Numerous inquiries. Since former President Donald Trumpleft office, there have been many investigations and inquiries into his businesses and personal affairs. Heres a list of those ongoing:

Investigation into criminal fraud. The Manhattan district attorneys office and the New York attorney generals officeare investigating whether Mr. Trump or his family business, the Trump Organization, engaged in criminal fraud by intentionally submitting false property values to potential lenders.

Investigation into tax evasion. As part of their investigation, in July 2021, the Manhattan district attorneys office charged the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer with orchestrating a 15-year scheme to evade taxes.A trial in that case is scheduled for summer 2022.

Mr. Zaid said that review process was broken because of the time and money required to challenge the decisions in court and because ultimately the department reversed its position on an overwhelming majority of classification decisions it earlier asserted were so vital to the national security interests of the United States, when the fact is they never were.

Mr. Esper submitted a draft of the manuscript for the review process in late May, and came to believe the process was taking an unusually long time, according to the lawsuit. The Defense Office of Prepublication and Security Review returned the manuscript in October without a written explanation for the deletions, the lawsuit said.

Mr. Esper said that some of the redactions asked me to not quote former President Trump and others in meetings, to not describe conversations between the former president and me, and to not use certain verbs or nouns when describing historical events.

I was also asked to delete my views on the actions of other countries, on conversations I held with foreign officials, and regarding international events that have been widely reported, Mr. Esper continued. Many items were already in the public domain; some were even published by D.O.D.

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Esper Memoir of Trump Tenure to Move Ahead After Legal Battle Ends - The New York Times

What? You didnt even know about it? Dont worry. Youre not alone. Almost nobody, except for the most die-hard Trump supporters, heard about it ahead of time.Like his earlier MAGA event on Jan.16 inArizona,Trumps Texas rallywas one of the best-kept secrets in American politics.

Of course, the faithful turned out in big numbers.But thats all.Trump wassimply preaching to the choir. You couldnt watch it on TV, either. None of the networks carriedthe rallylive. Neither did CNN or MSNBC. Not even Fox News. Only Fox Nation, the streaming service, and Newsmax, the 24/7 Trump cable channel, bothered to air the rally. And, other than the Houston Chronicle, there was almost zero print coverage. No wonder. It was the same old crowd being fed the same old lies.

Isnt it comforting to know thatthere areat least three Republicanswho believe that assaulting a police officer doesnot merit a presidential pardon?

For the second time in two weeks,Donald Trump laid an egg.And thatshouldtell us something:The Trump show is getting old.Its like expecting people to still watch Dancing with the Stars.Yeah, it was fun at first, but it soon got old. So has Trump. Hesso yesterday. Hes only been out ofofficea year, yet everyday fewer and fewer people care about what he says or does anymore.Especially because he sounds like such a broken record.

Which leads to the obvious conclusion and, no matter what you think, its not just wishful thinkingon my partDONALD TRUMP IS RUNNING OUT OF GAS.

Thats clearto me for three reasons. First because,Trumpstill refuses to admit he lost in 2020. Which is a growing problem for Republicans. They say they want to focus on the future, yet they stick with Donald Trump, and hes stuck in the past. In Arizona and Texas, all he talked aboutwas:the election was stolen; Jan.6 wasnt all that bad; and people are picking on me.

And finally, Trump is more and more mired down in legal troubles he cant just wish away. Every day,the Jan.6 inches closer and closer to charging Trump himself, which the Justice Department may already be considering. New York Attorney General Letitia James has clearly intensified her investigation of the Trump organization. And a Georgia grand jurys been convened to investigate charges of election interference by Trump.

It wont be long beforethe majority ofRepublicans conclude that Donald Trump is more of a liability than an asset. In fact, he already is.

Press is host of The Bill Press Pod. He is author of From the Left: A Life in the Crossfire.

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Press: Trump is running out of gas | TheHill - The Hill