Reagan Lawyer Rips Trump: 'Serious Crime' When President Tries to Block Elected Successor – The Messenger
If Donald Trump was hoping for some key support from former President Ronald Reagan's old camp for his efforts to upend the 2020 election, he got just the opposite.
Lawyer Peter J. Wallison — former White House counsel and general counsel for the Treasury in the Reagan administration — slammed Trump in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week in an op ed headlined: "Against Immunity for Trump."
Trump's hunt in the courts for presidential immunity against Special Counsel Jack Smith's indictments for his efforts to toss out election results has no merit, argued Wallison, who's currently a senior fellow emeritus at the right-leaning think tank American Enterprise Institute.
That activity was an attempt by Trump to hang onto personal power — contrary to the wishes of the voters — and not part of his official duties as president, Wallison noted.
"What’s undisputed in the case is that on Jan. 6, 2021, then-President Trump sought to interfere with the counting of the electoral votes by pressing the vice president to set aside some votes for Joe Biden from states that Mr. Trump disputed," wrote Wallison.
"If his plan hadn’t been foiled by the courage of Mike Pence, the U.S. would have descended into an unprecedented constitutional crisis," he added.
The U.S. Supreme Court could "ultimately hold" in Trump's favor against Smith's charges, but the "case is strong that Mr. Trump should be denied immunity," wrote Wallison
"There can hardly be a more serious crime for a president than to use the power of his office corruptly to prevent his successor from becoming president through a valid election," he concluded.