Legal experts slammed Donald Trump's lawyers on Wednesday after his legal team sent a letter to the Department of Justice requesting a meeting about special counsel Jack Smith's investigations into the former president.
Trump lawyers John Rowley and James Trusty requested the meeting with Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday to "present arguments that Trump should not be charged in the investigation related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents," sources familiar with the situation told ABC News.
In the letter, which the former president shared on Truth Social, Rowley and Trusty argued that Trump is "being treated unfairly."
"Unlike President Biden, his son Hunter, and the Biden family, President Trump is being treated unfairly," the letter says. "No President of the United States has ever, in the history of our country, been baselessly investigated in such an outrageous and unlawful fashion. We request a meeting at your earliest convenience to discuss the ongoing injustice that is being perpetrated by your Special Counsel and his prosecutors."
Reactions to the letter mounted on Wednesday with legal experts criticizing the Trump attorneys' arguments and even dubbing the letter a ploy to curry favor from Trump's base of supporters.
"As ever, Team Trump foolishly mixes law and politics," tweeted former U.S. Attorney Harry Litman. "If you have one point to make to get a meeting with the AG, comparing Trump to 'Hunter and the Biden family' is not the way to go. The letter was written for public consumption."
As ever, Team Trump foolishly mixes law and politics. If you have one point to make to get a meeting with the AG, comparing Trump to “Hunter and the Biden family” is not the way to go. The letter was written for public consumption
— Harry Litman (@harrylitman) May 24, 2023
"The letter requesting a meeting w/ Garland was a boneheaded way to try to talk the DOJ out of indicting but it tells us what Trump's line of response/attach will be," he added.
The letter requesting a meeting w/ Garland was a boneheaded way to try to talk the DOJ out of indicting but it tells us what Trump's line of response/attach will be. Thanks very much as always @thereidout for letting me share my thoughts. https://t.co/FglimRvGuO
— Harry Litman (@harrylitman) May 25, 2023
Litman expanded on his comments during an appearance on MSNBC Wednesday evening, explaining that "it's unlikely" the attorney general will agree to meet with Trump's team.
"I have seen it happen if they want to show they're giving them all the process in the world, but, of course, it's clearly a charade," he said. "The way the letter is written nobody is expecting — It's obviously not a real appeal to think things through."
He told host Joy-Ann Reid that Garland could go either way with Trump's lawyers' request, but will likely instruct them to speak with Smith first.
"It's not that the request is outlandish. It's that the request is so nasty, polemical and such a sort of PR move, so it's certainly not designed to succeed," Litman said.
When Reid asked if the letter was either a sign of Trump's lawyers' panic over his possible indictment or an attempt to raise money from his supporters, Litman explained that he thinks it was both.
"They certainly, I think, believe that the hammer is coming down on them and soon. Not that they think they'll talk Garland out of it, but you take any shot you can," he said.
"The weird thing here is it doesn't seem like the defense lawyers wrote it." he continued. "It seems like Trump dictated it, and that's not a good way to get a meeting or to succeed in a meeting."
Former U.S. Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal echoed Litman's sentiments during another appearance on MSNBC.
"It's very clear that Trump is trying to do this last ditch effort," he told host Nicolle Wallace. "It's the kind of thing you do right before you think you're about to be indicted, and it is likely — almost certainly — going nowhere."
Katyal broke down the regulations of the special counsel, explaining that they ensure that an independent party is selected to conduct investigations into "high-level presidential wrongdoing" to prevent bias. He said that the regulations require that Smith have "day-to-day independence" and that the attorney general consider his decisions with "great weight."
"The attorney general can overrule it, but there's a very high standard," he said.
He added that he expects Garland to take a hands-off approach to Smith's investigation and only step in if he finds something is "egregiously wrong," citing the attorney general's similar approach during Special Counsel John Durham's recent probe.
"I also think that's what Donald Trump himself is thinking," Katyal said before returning to the letter. "If you were a serious lawyer and you wanted to have a meeting with the attorney general, the way to do it is not write this letter which is all about Hunter Biden and being treated unfairly and then giving it to the press right away."
"That's not conducive to the kind of serious Justice Department meeting that would otherwise take place," he concluded.
"If you were a serious lawyer and you wanted to have a meeting with the attorney general, the way to do it is not write this letter which is all about Hunter Biden and being treated unfairly and then giving it to the press right away" - @neal_katyal w/ @NicolleDWallace pic.twitter.com/DoduurcpHm
— Deadline White House (@DeadlineWH) May 24, 2023
