As former President Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial rumbles on, reports have it that a host of legal experts are secretly making plans against the former president.
According to Politico, the group has been having regular meetings to discuss the former president’s legal woes and plan its talking points on the issue.
Andrew Weissmann, George Conway, Bill Kristol, Norm Eisen, Laurence Tribe, Barbara McQuade, Joyce White Vance, Jennifer Rubin, Mary McCord, Harry Litman, Elliot Williams, Asha Rangappa, Norm Ornstein, Renato Mariotti, Shan Wu, Ryan Goodman… https://t.co/ZhFYPQOhD9
— Byron York (@ByronYork) April 23, 2024
“Every Friday, they meet on Zoom to hash out the latest twists and turns in the Trump legal saga — and intellectually stress-test the arguments facing Trump on his journey through the American legal system,” Politico wrote. “About a dozen or more people join any given call, though no one takes attendance. Some group members wouldn’t describe themselves with any partisan or ideological lean, but most are united by their dislike of Trump.”
The group is made up of some of the country’s most well-known legal and political commentators. Prominent legal analysts and progressive and conservative anti-Trump lawyers are also members of the group. “Never-Trump” conservative Bill Kristo, MSNBC legal analyst Andrew Weissmann and Jeffrey Toobin are members of the clandestine group.
Anti-Trump Lincoln Project co-founder George Conway, one of Trump’s fiercest critics, is also part of the group. The group’s formation dates back to the January 6 Committee investigation period. In 2022, the committee secretly briefed the group about its investigation. According to Politico, the committee staffers also appear regularly as special guests in meetings to provide updates on the investigation.
An anonymous source who spoke with Politico expressed shock at the group’s existence while noting their reservation about the group.
“It runs the risk of creating the impression that there is an agreement or cooperation or conspiracy across mainstream media entities,” the source said. “And that could feed into some false and damaging perceptions, particularly on the right.”
Members of the group claimed that it was not created to create talking points ultimately designed to imprison Trump or derail his presidential campaign. However, one participant in one of the group’s meetings noted that the discussions were heavily anti-Trump.
“‘It feels almost like a seminar in law school,’ said a participant in the group. Most calls comprise ‘deliberation, debate and discussion,’ albeit ‘with a distinct anti-Trump tilt to it,’” Politico wrote.
Fox guest on Trump trial:
"This is the kind of thing they would do in the Roman republic that led to the end of the Roman republic."pic.twitter.com/FAzDkvZeY6
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) April 23, 2024