Trump hater par excellence Nicolle Wallace might have had the afternoon off on Wednesday. But the absolute loathing of the former president continued on her MSNBC show.
MSNBC's Alicia Menendez subbed for Wallace on Wednesday's Deadline White House. She began by parroting Wallace's pet description of Trump as: "the disgraced, twice-impeached, twice-indicted, legally liable for sexual assault, ex-president."
Menendez then indulged in some world-class schadenfreude. She gloated/fantasized that Trump supposedly "squirms and sweats, waiting for the special counsel's next move" now that special counsel Jack Smith has sent a letter informing him that he is a target of the investigation into the events of January 6th.
Menendez offered no evidence in support of her squirming and sweating assertion. In fact, Trump's support among Republican primary voters has actually risen as charges against him have mounted.
And as MSNBC's sister network CNBC has reported, "Trump fundraising haul surged in second quarter as he battled indictments."
So you might imagine that Trump, far from sweating and squirming, could actually be welcoming the latest news.
Then, quoting a New York Times article, Menendez described the potential prison terms Trump might be facing were he to be convicted of the crimes Smith is reportedly considering. Menendez proclaimed "the possibilities are chilling" -- but you know that for her and her liberal audience, the operative word was actually "thrilling."
You can imagine Menendez receiving a pat on the back and an "attagirl," from Nicolle and the MSNBC suits for her Wallace-worthy attack on Trump.
On Nicolle Wallace's MSNBC show, substitute host Alicia Menendez gloating that Donald Trump supposedly "squirms and sweats" as he awaits possible additional indictments by special counsel Jack Smith was sponsored in part by BMW, Amazon, Procter & Gamble, maker of Gain detergent, and Skechers.
Here's the transcript.
MSNBC
Deadline White House
7/19/23
4:00 pm EDTALICIA MENENDEZ: Hi, everyone. It is 4:00 in the East. I'm Alicia Menendez, in for Nicolle Wallace.
As we come on the air, we are tracking a fascinating split screen. On the one hand, the disgraced, twice-impeached, twice-indicted, legally liable for sexual assault, ex-president raging on Truth Social and whining about the possibility of more indictments during his town hall with Sean Hannity.
On the other, special counsel Jack Smith, who by all accounts is calmly carrying on. Each passing hour, moving closer to potentially indicting Donald Trump again. This time over efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Just today Jack Smith was spotted at a federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., where a federal grand jury was meeting. And although Trump has no plans to travel to Washington this week to testify before the special counsel, William Russell, a former White House aide of Trump's who works for his 2024 presidential campaign, will testify to the grand jury tomorrow.
Now, as Donald Trump squirms and sweats, waiting for the special counsel's next move, we're getting new insight into what Jack Smith may have up his sleeve. NBC News has now confirmed that the target letter Donald Trump received from Jack Smith, informing him he that is the target of a the federal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, spells out in black and white, three federal statutes related to the deprivation of rights, conspiracy to defraud the U.S., and tampering with a witness.
And those federal statutes are not for the faint of heart. As the New York Times reports, the possibilities are chilling. Conspiring to defraud the U.S., for example, is quote, a crime punishable by up to five years in prison. Then, there's a conspiracy to submit false electors to Congress, which makes false statements a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.
There have also been, quote, signs that prosecutors have explored potential charges involving wire or mail fraud related to Mr. Trump's fundraising efforts in the name of overturning the election results. It's worth worth noting that wire fraud could be punishable by 20 years in prison.
And that, quote, subpoenas issued by Mr. Smith suggest he has been scrutinizing Mr.Trump's political action committee, Save America PAC. It raised as much as $250 million, telling donors the money was needed to fight election fraud, even as Mr. Trump had been told, repeatedly, that there was no evidence to back up those claims.
Now, we don't know yet how this is all going to turn out, whether Trump will be indicted again, when it will happen, or exactly what the charges will be. But for now, hour by hour, the plot thickens.
