Former federal prosector Gene Rossi said late Tuesday that there is enough evidence to draft two indictments against President Trump.
Rossi during a discussion with MSNBC host Ari Melber outlined the charges he said he could bring against Trump.
“I could draft an indictment against the president of the United States on two counts. One would be his relationship with Michael Cohen on the election fraud,” Rossi said. “And number two, I could draft a scheme in an attempt to obstruct justice against the president right now.”
The New York Times reported Tuesday that Trump attempted to direct the Department of Justice to prosecute 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey.
Trump’s legal counsel, however, convinced him that doing so would be a bad idea and could risk impeachment.
{mosads}Trump also submitted his written answers to special counsel Robert Mueller’s questions on Tuesday, his lawyers said. Trump’s personal lawyer, Jay Sekulow, said the answers cover “issues regarding the Russia-related topics of the inquiry.”
Rossi on MSNBC said Mueller has the legal “authority” to bring indictments against the president.
“Robert Mueller has the jurisdiction and the authority, unless [acting Attorney General] Matt Whitaker puts a quench over it, he has the authority to go into that. Because it’s the heart and soul and the gestalt of what Robert Mueller’s looking at. Absolutely,” he said.
Trump’s former personal lawyer and “fixer,” Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty in August to violating campaign finance laws. The charges were connected to payments he made to adult-film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal in an attempt to silence their allegations of affairs with Trump before the 2016 presidential election. Cohen implied in court that he did so at the direction of Trump in order to help his campaign.
Trump has repeatedly dismissed the claims and says Cohen lied to “get a deal” with prosecutors.