Trump's blather has his lawyers in a lather

WASHINGTON >> Donald Trump speaks about his legal woes in a way that would make most defense attorneys wince.

In a March interview on Fox News Channel, the Republican former president said he had “the right to take” classified documents with him to his Florida resort and wouldn't say he hadn't looked at the records since leaving office. During a CNN town hall this month, he said he told a Georgia elections official “you owe me” votes in the 2020 election.

At the same town hall he insulted a female writer as a “wack job” — only a day after that woman, E. Jean Carroll, won a $5 million judgment against him in a civil suit alleging defamation and sexual assault. On Monday, Carroll amended a lawsuit to hold him liable for the town hall remarks.

The problem, legal experts say, is that the former president is under intensifying scrutiny from state and federal prosecutors, and those same prosecutors can use the former president's statements against him in a variety of ways.

“Any utterances by a defendant, whether they are confessions, denials, observations, nonsensical gibberish, or just plain goofy are nothing but pure gold for prosecutors,” said Julieanne Himelstein, a former assistant U.S. attorney in Washington.

Trump has made comments that could be seen as incriminating or, at the very least, complicate his legal team's ability to beat back charges. He seemed to get into particular trouble during a May 10 town hall hosted by CNN.

He spent nearly an hour discussing issues while also commenting on the investigations in ways that run counter to generally accepted legal advice. Not only did he re-insult Carroll and provide Fulton County's prosecutor more fodder for her probe but he also gave the Justice Department an opening by claiming he couldn't recall whether he had shown classified documents to anyone.