'I see criminal conspiracy' in the Trump-Russia investigation: former federal prosecutor
Former federal prosecutor Mimi Rocah said Monday on MSNBC's "Deadline: White House" that all the emerging evidence about President Donald Trump's ties to Russia and his apparent efforts to obstruct justice makes her believe that there is a criminal conspiracy at the center of issue.
But, she noted, it's not clear whether Special Counsel Robert Mueller will have enough evidence at the end of his investigation to confidently make that case.
She made the comments in response to the ever-changing stories of Rudy Giuliani, Trump's lawyer who has repeatedly contradicted himself and walked back various statements relating directly to the president's potential criminal conduct in the last week.
"I think Giuliani should be disbarred, frankly, for the amount of lies he's telling on television," said Rocah. "What really matters is what Trump did and is doing and has been doing in the name of the presidency."
Mueller's investigation, she said, has in a perverse way served to shield Trump from criticism.
"The fact of the investigation has almost insulated Trump because we're all waiting for that final report, the package that's going to tie all these dots together, as opposed to, as you say, reacting to stunning revelations one by one that should be president-ending, term-ending. They should be, really, something that we all step back and take a deep breath about and we don't, in some ways, because we're waiting for that final report," she said. "I think that there is, and it just increases every day, so many signs, circumstantial and otherwise, pointing to some kind of criminal conspiracy here. What it will be, and whether Mueller will feel he has the evidence to say, 'I can prove this in court — which I think will be his standard, whether or not Trump gets charged — I don't know. But ... from a former prosecutor's point of view — and I'm not alone in this — I see criminal conspiracy."
Watch the clip below:
"The [Mueller] investigation has almost insulated Trump because we’re all waiting for that final report… as opposed… https://t.co/6gAnmu2UtT— Deadline White House (@Deadline White House) 1548112898