Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

‘Breaks My Heart’: Ex-Federal Prosecutor ‘Pissed’ About Trump ‘Being Allowed To Get Away With Everything’

Screenshot/YouTube/ Glenn Kirschner

Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner expressed outrage Tuesday over President-elect Donald Trump avoiding criminal penalties.

Manhattan prosecutors, in a Tuesday court filing, indicated they would not oppose further delays in Trump’s sentencing for his New York conviction, increasing the likelihood that all of the president-elect’s legal challenges will be at least paused during his presidency. Kirschner, on his YouTube channel, blamed the Supreme Court for enabling Trump to avoid consequences, claiming “They are why the rule of law is failing.”

“I got to be honest, I am one pissed off prosecutor. I am one angry American … You know, this is not a failure of the rule of law. This is a failure of the people who administer the rule of law. And even more pointedly, it’s the people who distort and corrupt and pervert the rule of law,” Kirschner said. “This bullshit is directly attributable to the Supreme Court Justices who ignore and violate the plain language and meaning of the Constitution in their determination to protect a criminal president.”

“That’s why the rule of law is failing. They are why the rule of law is failing. And friends, it breaks my heart to say this, but in some ways, we are becoming a lawless country — at least in as much as the ruling class criminals, Donald Trump and his criminal associates, are being allowed to get away with everything,” he continued. “And that is something that our country cannot long endure.”

Kirchner also lamented the Department of Justice reportedly considering how to wind down its two federal criminal cases against Trump as he prepares to take office in January.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg suggested Tuesday that Judge Juan Merchan consider delaying Trump’s remaining case proceedings until his term ends in 2029.

A Manhattan jury had convicted Trump in May on 34 counts for falsifying business records. Merchan paused all deadlines in the case on Nov. 12 in light of Trump’s election victory, delaying his decision on the president-elect’s motion to dismiss the verdict based on the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling, which it issued after the verdict.

“The People deeply respect the Office of the President, are mindful of the demands and obligations of the presidency and acknowledge that Defendant’s inauguration will raise unprecedented legal questions,” prosecutors wrote. “We also deeply respect the fundamental role of the jury in our constitutional system.”

“No current law establishes that a president’s temporary immunity from prosecution requires dismissal of a post-trial criminal proceeding that was initiated at a time when the defendant was not immune from criminal prosecution and that is based on unofficial conduct for which the defendant is also not immune,” the filing continues.

Kirschner in August urged Merchan to imprison Trump ahead of the presidential election, saying “he so richly deserves” to spend time behind bars. He expressed concern in October that Trump appeared likely to remain free as the election approached, but said he held onto hope that Trump would lose and subsequently face criminal penal