'Could have been winnable': Expert blasts Trump lawyers for letting him dictate strategy
Donald Trump’s legal team unleashed a “scorched earth” defense that was dictated by him — and has little chance of succeeding, a former federal prosecutor said Monday.
And, unless lawyers drastically change their direction in closing, Trump will become a convicted felon, Renato Mariotti told CNN.
“This is a case that could have been winnable by the defense if they pursued a different strategy,” he said.
“...But they really haven’t had a focus presentation. They haven’t tried to focus the jury on issues … they've really been all over the place, scorched earth attacking not just Michael Cohen, but Stormy Daniels. Contesting everything.
“I think that we're going to get more of that scorched-earth attack everything approach in the closing arguments. And, if that's the case, I do think there's going to be a conviction here.
“Really, there needs to be an entirely different approach.”
He told CNN host Jim Acosta that the whole defense appeared to have been run by Trump.
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“I'm not sure that Donald Trump's willing to let his defense attorneys pursue a strategy that has a chance of winning in this case,” he added.
Former White House ethics czar Norm Eisen agreed.
“He has hit the nail on the head,” he said.
“This was a winnable case. It still is not a slam dunk in my view, having been there every day for the prosecution I think the odds of a conviction are somewhere upwards of 80%.
“The defense, in part because of this scattershot approach, the defense is not really gunning for an acquittal. That's out of reach here. What they're hoping for is one angry juror, that there's one juror who either feels a whole sympathy for Trump or just for whatever reason does not follow the evidence and the law, the holdout.”