Trump lawyer: ‘Violation of the Constitution is not a violation of criminal law’

A lawyer defending Donald Trump against Jan. 6 charges related to the 2020 election argued Sunday that his client’s actions may amount to a violation of the Constitution but not criminal law.

Attorney John Lauro disputed that Mr. Trump asked former Vice President Mike Pence to act criminally by rejecting the election’s results. Mr. Lauro said the two men simply had disagreements about the certification process. 

“A technical violation of the Constitution is not a violation of criminal law,” Mr. Lauro said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “That’s just plain wrong, and to say that is contrary to decades of legal statute.”

Mr. Lauro made rounds on other major networks’ Sunday shows, including ABC, CNN, CBS and Fox. He said on “Fox News Sunday” that the latest charges were “an effort to prevent President Trump from running for president.”

In a separate appearance on “Meet the Press,” Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, a member of the Jan. 6 House Committee and the lead impeachment manager during Mr. Trump’s second trial, called Mr. Lauro’s legal theory “deranged.”

“There are people who are in jail for several years for counterfeiting one vote, if they try to vote illegally once. He tried to steal the entire election,” Mr. Raskin said. “His lawyer’s up there saying, ’Oh, that’s just a matter of him expressing his First Amendment rights.’ That’s deranged. That is a deranged argument.”

In addition to these charges, Mr. Trump has been charged in two other separate cases: one in Florida for allegedly mishandling classified documents after leaving office at his Mar-a-Lago estate and one in New York for alleged campaign finance violations related to hush-money payments. 

The 2024 Republican presidential candidate is also expected to face charges in Georgia for efforts to overturn that state’s 2020 election results. 

Mr. Lauro said he believes the most recent case tied to the 2020 election “is going to be the most important civil rights and constitutional case in decades.”

“Everything that President Trump did was while he was in office, as a president,” he said in his “Meet the Press” interview. “He is now immune from prosecution for acts that he takes in connection with those policy decisions. The Biden administration has not addressed that.”

Mr. Pence confirmed Sunday he testified against Mr. Trump to the grand jury prior to the indictment but said he does not plan to do so during the trial.

“Mike Pence will be one of our best witnesses at trial. I read his book very carefully, and if he testifies consistent with his book, then President Trump will be acquitted,” Mr. Lauro said on ABC’s “This Week.” “Based on what Vice President Pence will say, the government will never be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump had corrupt or criminal intent, and that’s what this case is about.”

Mr. Lauro said they will seek a change in venue outside of Washington, D.C., which is overwhelmingly Democratic, to somewhere like nearby West Virginia.