By Michael Katz
Prominent criminal defense lawyer David Schoen told Newsmax on Monday it’s possible that former President Donald Trump, should he be charged by a Georgia grand jury over allegations he tried to subvert the state’s 2020 election result, will seek to move the case to federal court.
The grand jury was convened by Democratic Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, and if indicted, would be the second state indictment against Trump. The other was issued by Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on allegations of hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump is also facing two federal indictments delivered by Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith.
“I think there will be a significant initiative to move it to federal court [because it is a] completely different dynamic than in the New York case,” Schoen told “American Agenda.” “In the New York case, there’s a question whether he was actually acting under the color of law or in his capacity as the president in his dealings with [former Trump attorney] Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels.
“In this case, I don’t think there isn’t really any legitimate question as to what capacity he was acting in. This had directly to do with the election, and I think that he would take a position under Article II, Section 1 and Section 3 of the Constitution that he had an obligation to take steps with respect to the election.”
Randy Zelin, a prominent criminal defense lawyer who appeared on Newsmax with Schoen, said there might be one drawback to moving the case to federal court.
“The problem for the president in moving the Georgia case into federal court is he’s going to end up in D.C., and that’s probably the last place he wants to end up in,” Zelin said.
Schoen, who was among Trump’s attorneys for the former president’s second impeachment trial in the Senate, said if he was on Trump’s legal team, he would take a methodical approach to looking over any charges that should come from an indictment in Georgia.
“You have to wait and see what the charges are, and then you go over the indictment carefully,” Schoen said. “He is, notwithstanding what I’ve read in the media, a terrific client to have. He is focused on the charges and is creative in helping address them. He knows how to appeal to people. He knows how to appeal to a jury.”
Source: https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/david-schoen-newsmax-trump/2023/08/14/id/1130693/
