Jeffrey Toobin Explains What’s So Revealing About Steve Bannon’s Arrest
CNN’s chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin on Thursday highlighted the Trump administration’s “extraordinary record of sleaze” as he broke down what is “so revealing” about the arrest of former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.
Bannon and three others were arrested earlier Thursday on federal fraud charges, accused of stealing money donated to a “We Build The Wall” online crowdfunding campaign.
Bannon, who also served as a top aide on President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, pleaded not guilty Thursday afternoon.
Toobin, appearing on CNN’s “Outfront,” told host Erin Burnett that “what makes this case so revealing is that it shows the contempt with which Bannon views his own supporters, views the people who were supporting the wall.”
“They are marks, they are suckers, they are patsies to pay money for this wall project that all they’re doing, at least according to the indictment,” the commentator explained.
Toobin also predicted a further problem for Bannon.
Bannon “is the most famous of the four defendants, that is just an invitation to one or more of the others to flip, to plead guilty and cooperate,” said Toobin. “Because in federal court, defendants are rewarded strongly for cooperating against other defendants and Bannon looks like he’s got nowhere to cooperate.”
Burnett noted how Bannon was “just the latest” Trump associate to be charged with a crime.
“What does it say to you?” she asked Toobin.
“It’s just extraordinary,” he replied. “There hasn’t been a presidency like this since Watergate. And even in Watergate, you didn’t have a scenario like you’ve had here.”
Check out the exchange:
