be there the next several days.
>> Okay.
Allison chinchar, polo Sandoval,
thank you so much.
>>> New developments in the
trump criminal probe.
Just days after tphaupbsing he
is running for president in
2024, U.S. Attorney general
Merrick Garland is appointing a
special counsel to oversee the
ongoing investigation into the
former president.
Trump is lashing out calling it
abuse of power and saying he
won't participate in the probe.
It will lead the department's
investigations into the former
president's possible
mishandling -- boy, excuse me.
I'm losing my voice here.
The possible mishandling of
classified documents and key
parts of its January 6th
investigation.
The former federal prosecutor
and the host of the podcast on
topic.
Good to see you.
All right.
>> Thank you.
>> Your reaction to this
announcement, not the frog in my
throat.
>> A couple of things come to
mind.
First of all,, I really don't
think attorney general Garland
appointed jack Smith as special
counsel to wrap up these
investigations, to close them.
They thought there was
substantial work to be done.
In fact,, there is a potential
for a criminal indictment of the
former president.
>> And so do you feel like the
appointment of the special
counsel means that there will be
greater emphasis being placed on
any number of these
investigations?
You know, if we were to put them
into the categories of you have
your January 6th insurrection.
You've got the threat to a
peaceful transfer of power.
You've got the documents, you
know, that were seized in
mar-a-lago.
Will there be a greater emphasis
in any number of those
investigations?
>> I believe the driver here is
the mar-a-lago documents case.
That is very far along.
It is a very straightforward
crime.
In fact,, if you or I had top
secret documents in your closet
or basement, we would already be
in serious hot water.
It's more like a drug crime I
used to prosecute as a junior
prosecutor.
Those cases are straightforward.
If you have heroin in your
encloses, you're guilty.
And so maybe you could try to
make some arguments.
But here the justice department
issued a grand jury subpoena.
Made a personal visit to the
former president's estate, and
he still didn't gave them.
>> There is acknowledgment that
it is government property.
Even though the former president
says they were his.
But recordkeeping has it as
such.
This is government documents.
He admits to having it.
So you're talking about what
seems to be a slam dunk case.
But then do you see that
indictments are forth coming in
a more expedited fashion given
both former president trump and
Biden have expressed intent on
running in 2024?
>> Yeah.
I have to say, Fred, I think
it's very likely that there's
going to be an indictment of
trump in the mar-a-lago
documents case.
I don't think that is the case
in the January 6th
investigation.
When you see expedited, I think
in the next six months is a very
realistic time frame which could
mean a criminal trial of the
former president before the 2024
election.
Obviously, very unchartered,
unprecedented ground.
And I think that's part of the
reason why attorney general
Garland wanted somebody else
making that decision.
>> And you had the former
president, who has been blasting
this announcement.
It's interesting his choice of
words saying this is abuse of
power.
>> A phrase something he knows
personally.
It's ironic given there were
many times saying abuses of
power that were committed by the
former president were not
prosecuted criminally or
shouldn't be prosecuted
criminally or they didn't fit
within the four corners of some
statute.
He appears to be committed to a
crime and now he's talking about
abuse of power.
I will say another comment that
he made that you quoted a moment
ago he decided he won't par take
in this criminal investigation.
I wish that worked for my
clients.
I wish I could send a letter on
behalf of my clients, decline to
par take.
I'm not participating.
Going home.
>> That's right.