A longtime Alabama attorney, who is one of the nation's foremost authorities on criminal defense, says the government's case against former President Donald Trump is winnable, but not with the lawyers Trump currently has on his team.
Donald Watkins, who holds the U.S. record for winning the most counts in a single-defendant federal criminal case, knows the twists and turns of a high-stakes battle like the one Trump is facing. In an article at his DonaldWatkins.com Web site, the courtroom veteran with roughly 50 years of experience, says Trump faces an uphill battle if he does not change the cast of characters around him.
Under the headline "Indicted by the Feds, Can Donald Trump Win His Case?" Watkins writes:
Yesterday, Donald Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury in Miami on 37 counts of violating federal laws governing the handling and retention of classified government documents. Trump has been summoned to court in Miami for his first hearing at 3 p.m. EST on Tuesday
Can Trump win this criminal case?
Yes, but not with the defense team that presently represents him. They do not have the experience or talent level for winning this kind of criminal case.
If you look at the biographies of the attorneys on Donald Trump’s defense team, you will notice that these lawyers are virgins who have no experience in defending individuals whom the federal government considers as political "ramble-rousers," "trouble-makers," and “outcasts.” Trump is viewed by Joe Biden’s Department of Justice as a political "trouble-maker" and "outcast" who must be taken down.
What is worse, Trump’s lawyers do not even mention their win-loss record in criminal cases that have gone to trial. The reason for this glaring omission is obvious -- these lawyers DO NOT have impressive win-loss records in criminal cases that have gone to trial and resulted in "Not Guilty" verdicts.
Donald Trump’s case is one where losing is NOT an acceptable option. Yet, he is entering the fray with a defense team that is woefully unprepared for this kind and caliber of Blitzkrieg fighting.
Representatives Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), James Comer (R-Kentucky), and other political gunslingers in Washington cannot win the Miami criminal case for Trump. His lawyers must win it for him in the courtroom.
As it stands now, Watkins does not like Trump's chances:
I am NOT optimistic for Donald Trump. As the record-holder for winning the most felony counts (85) in a single-defendant, high-profile, federal criminal case (U.S. v. Richard Scrushy), I have noticed that Trump’s defense team has already blown at least two excellent chances to disqualify Jack Smith as Special Counsel and tank his criminal cases against Trump. These missed opportunities occurred because Trump’s lawyers lack the skills, training, and experience necessary for this kind of “gladiator” fighting.
Frankly, I have NOT seen one iota of evidence that convinces me Trump’s defense team knows how to fight and win this federal criminal case. Unless Donald Trump gets the right defense team in this case very soon, he will suffer a long, expensive, emotionally painful, physically draining, gut-wrenching experience and devastating outcome in his court battles with Jack Smith in Miami and Washington.
