Last night, Rachel Maddow reported that Trump's unhinged statement back in December about how Democrats "want to put people in jail" was linked to a meeting his attorneys had with the Fulton County district attorney's office from Fulton County, Georgia.
"We can report tonight that that seemingly sort of unhinged statement from Trump decrying Democratic law enforcement, that statement happened within days of Trump's attorneys having their previously unreported in-person meeting with the prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, who are investigating Mr. Trump criminally for his alleged actions to pressure election officials in that state.
"That statement, again, within days of that previously unreported meeting by his attorneys in person with the Fulton County prosecutor's office. Oh, maybe that's what he was so upset about. Joining us now is Gwen Keys Fleming, someone who has known Fulton County's district attorney for years. She is the district attorney to DeKalb county," Maddow said.
"We think this may be the first time this news has been publicly reported. Can you tell us from the perspective of somebody who has been a district attorney in Georgia, if there is anything at all that we should read into or we should see this as a signifier for in terms of the state of the investigation, that the gentleman at the center of the investigation, his attorneys are meeting in person with the prosecutor's office?" she asked.
"I think it signals that things are moving along. I think the fact that defense counsel met with the prosecutors, that, in and of itself, is not remarkable. That happens all the time in Georgia, even before charges are filed, particularly in high-profile cases where there may be speculation. I think what's interesting is the statements that we heard after that meeting, like you said, that didn't appear to be in context beforehand," Fleming said.
"Now, as you look at that full picture and all of the pieces and facts are coming together, it gives you a new light. And let me say, first of all, I had the pleasure of serving with elected district attorney to a Republican, elected district attorneys who are Democratic, and the one thing that is common among all of them is, not ever can I ever point to a time where any of us made a decision to either prosecute or dismiss a case based on our political affiliation or that of the person that we were investigating."
She called Trump's statement "just patently false. That does not happen. That is a violation of the oath of office. And again I think if you step back, you can begin to put things in context, particularly if you go back in history. and think about the things that the former president said back in April of 2020 and the eight months leading up to the election, where he decried a fair election. He indicated that there was rampant fraud in mail-in voting and kept saying that the election would be rigged, and you could see how those early statements then snowballed into what became the big lie of him winning the election and Joe Biden losing.
"And so if you take that frame and apply it to these current statements, you can't help but wonder if this is the beginning of a similar playbook where he is trying to undermine and create doubt in the integrity of the justice system."
