Ty Cobb, one of then-President Donald Trump’s top defense attorneys four years ago, said there is a “very high” chance he could be charged.
Cobb, who defended Trump during special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, hypothesized that the search and seizure of documents at Mar-a-Lago could add to the Justice Department’s sprawling investigation into the riots at the January 6 at the Capitol.
“I think the president is in a serious legal situation, not so much because of the search, but because of the obstructionist activity that he did in connection with January 6,” Cobb told CBS. “That was the first time in the history of the United States that a president unconstitutionally attempted to remain in power illegally.”
During the August raid, FBI agents seized 26 boxes containing more than 100 documents that bore classified markings—ranging from confidential to top secret information.
The raid was the culmination of a month of exchanges between Trump and the administration over presidential records.
“The president … was warned many times not to tear up the documents,” Cobb told CBS. “In my own experience, I’ve seen him tear up newspaper articles that sadly some staff member would have to tape back together at the end of the day. I saw him tear up unimportant documents, but I never saw him tear up a classified document or anything that was important.”
“There is a simple way to disqualify President Trump,” Cobb said. “Clearly, he violated the 14th Amendment to Article III of the Constitution when he provided aid and comfort and three hours of inaction regarding what was happening on the Capitol grounds. He provided aid and comfort to the insurrectionists.”
Cobb joins a growing number of lawyers formerly associated with Trump but now critical of him, including former Attorney General William Barr and former Trump attorney Michael Cohen.
