Former U.S. Army prosecutor Glenn Kirschner on Wednesday broke down what he believes one gripe in Donald Trump’s demand for a mistrial in his civil fraud trial is really all about.
During an interview with MSNBC’s Alicia Menendez, Kirschner first explained how calls for a mistrial “may sound dramatic but are actually pretty usual” because they mean the call can later be raised on appeal.
Kirschner then rubbished the Trump legal team’s claims that Judge Arthur Engoron and his law clerk are biased against the former president. Trump’s lawyers have also complained against Engorong sitting too close to the clerk.
“Trump’s lawyers write that the judge’s clerk is, ‘judging,’” noted Menendez. “Saying the principal law clerk is given unprecedented and inappropriate latitude. Do you think they’re going to be willing to let this go, Glenn?”
“Oh no. They’re going to probably play this for all it’s worth, if only with Donald Trump’s base in an attempt to grift more money from them,” he replied.
Kirschner detailed how many judges heavily rely on their clerks, who he described as being “kind of the behind-the-scenes unsung heroes.”
Engoron “may have a somewhat unusual practice of having his law clerk right there available to him to consult in real-time,” he added. “Nothing improper about it.”
