Former U.S. Attorney Shoots Down Trump’s Georgia Lawyer’s Attempt to Get Sensitive DOJ Evidence

On Sunday morning's MSNBC interview, it was former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade's turn to field questions on Trump attorney Steve Sadow's request for the DOJ's evidence on Donald Trump's behavior during the January 6 revolt. This information will be presented before Judge Tonya Chutkan's courtroom next year. The MSNBC host Katie Phang initiated by asking, "How successful is Sadow going to be, in obtaining the evidence list that is otherwise not up for public consumption?"

As reported by Raw Story, McQuade replied, "Yeah, I think there is zero chance of getting that, these are separate sovereigns who are engaging in separate prosecutions. Although [Fulton County DA] Fani Willis has a duty to turn over any evidence she's going to use in the trial and any evidence that is exonerating for the defense and the right to a fair trial, she doesn't have access to what's going on in federal court, and neither does the defense."

She further added, "They have absolutely no duty to turn this over. I think they play these strategies so often, even when they know there is zero chance of prevailing, to have another issue to complain about in the press and show supporters how unfair the process is. That's absolutely not true; it's one more thing to complain about."

Since moving to his social media site, Truth Social, to express his views, Trump has been subject to gag orders due to his persistent assaults on judges and court officials. An appeals court in New York is likely to consider Monday whether to restore or temporarily suspend the gag order that was issued to Trump by Judge Arthur Engoron, who is supervising his civil fraud trial. Last week, an appellate judge temporarily lifted the order due to concerns expressed about free speech. McQuade addressed Trump's tirade of insults, stating that the ex-president's legal team has used cases outside of court to argue against the gag orders.

As per the outlet, she said, "One of the things that the [Trump] lawyers have done, that is very misleading here, is to look at cases outside of the context of court, of opinion, criminal cases. You know, prior restraints are frowned upon, of course. Anything that limits core political speech is antithetical to the First Amendment."

She continued by saying that we are in the trial world and "those rules are different" compared to the outside examples that Trump's attorneys use to bolster their points. McQuade said, "That's not the world that we are in. We are in the world of a trial. And so inside a trial, to protect the parties, to protect court staff, and to protect the fair administration of justice, those rules are different. And so I hope that the court sees the light and understands the very threat on the one hand versus the restriction on the other."

She also added, "I think they should follow the wise old adage that when someone shows you who they are, you should believe them. I think it matters. I think Donald Trump has demonstrated that he will push the limits as absolutely far as he can and then a little bit more. So, I think that this was a very powerful filing."