A former federal prosecutor says revelations from ex-White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s new book could be damaging to Donald Trump in more ways than one.
Among many explosive claims in the book, Hutchinson alleged that her former boss Mark Meadows destroyed documents in the waning days of Trump’s presidency. Meadows burned so many files in his home fireplace that his wife complained about the “bonfire” smell on his suits, Hutchinson wrote, according to The New York Times. Her book, “Enough,” goes on sale Tuesday.
According to former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance, the details could be helpful to prosecutors investigating the four-times-indicted ex-president, but they’ll need to do more digging.
“As a prosecutor, you need more than just the story, which does sound suspicious,” Vance told MSNBC of the detail on Monday, according to a clip posted by Mediaite.
“You’ve got to have facts. And so, for this to become evidence in a courtroom, there needs to be witnesses who can explain what documents Meadows was burning, and to show why.”
The information serves as a “signpost” showing prosecutors who they need to talk to, she said.
MSNBC guest host Melissa Murray asked Vance how details from the book could impact Trump, Meadows and their allies in court.
Hutchinson’s storytelling “confirms our thinking that Trump’s regular modus operandi was to obstruct justice,” Vance said.
“Just in the court of public opinion, this tells us how poorly set the Trump administration was, that this is not the kind of leadership we need in the White House,” she said. “It’s as informative for the upcoming elections as it is for the forthcoming trials.”
Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, has been indicted on 91 felony counts across four cases. They are tied to his attempted coup, his push to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results, his handling of classified documents and his alleged falsification of business records in New York.
In the documents case, he faces multiple obstruction of justice charges, including allegations he instructed employees to delete security camera footage sought by investigators.
Meadows is charged alongside Trump in Georgia with violating the state’s racketeering act and soliciting a public officer to violate their oath.