President Donald Trump cannot afford to have another week like last week, which was filled with setback after setback, Judge Andrew Napolitano argues in a new opinion piece.
Writing for The Washington Times, Napolitano outlined Trump's challenging week — which included public testimony by his former lawyer Michael Cohen, whose words dealt several blows to Trump; a report claiming Trump's son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner was denied a security clearance before Trump himself stepped in; and Trump's failed attempt to reach a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The Cohen testimony was the hardest on Trump in a legal and political sense, Napolitano wrote, because of what Cohen alleged his former boss did before, during, and after the 2016 presidential campaign.
"Hidden in the Cohen testimony was an oblique reference to alleged bank and tax fraud that Cohen claimed he helped Mr. Trump commit, contributed to Mr. Trump's wealth, and has the present interest of federal prosecutors in Manhattan," Napolitano wrote.
Napolitano, who served as a New Jersey Superior Court judge from 1987-1995, said the alleged crimes referenced by Cohen could be prosecuted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
"It permits federal prosecutors to reach back 10 years to find any two criminal acts, which need not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt; prosecutors need only demonstrate that they were more likely than not to have occurred," Napolitano wrote. "Then the feds can seize three times the wealth that the perpetrators of these schemes amassed. That could bankrupt Mr. Trump.
"The president has serious and powerful tormentors whom he cannot overcome by mockery alone. He needs to do more than demean them with acerbic tweets, because many of those tormentors can legally cause him real harm. He needs to address these issues soberly, directly and maturely. Can President Trump survive all this? Yes — but not if he has another week like the last one."
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