Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers have their work cut out for them, according to political commentator Bill O’Reilly.
“Well, he did it. Trump had the documents, and that’s against the law,” he said. “How are they gonna handle it? They can’t deny he had the classified documents. He did. And now it becomes criminal intent.”
O’Reilly spoke to KNX In Depth about Trump’s 37-count federal indictment, which he said is stickier than the similar scandal regarding Hillary Clinton’s private email server in 2016. At least Clinton had the defense that she didn’t know she was committing a crime.
“You’re not gonna be able to say that Donald Trump didn't know. He did, according to this indictment. And I don’t know how you challenge that,” O’Reilly said. “But [Trump’s lawyers] probably will say, he had no idea what he was doing was gonna lead to federal charges.”
But while he believes Trump will be convicted in federal court, he’s less sure what will happen in the court of public opinion. O’Reilly, author of an upcoming book about witch hunts, says Trump’s claim that his own indictment is a “witch hunt” is a matter of perspective.
“If you don't like Trump, he’s Jack the Ripper. If you do like him, he’s a martyr, he’s being persecuted,” he said.
O’Reilly pointed out that President Joe Biden is also currently under investigation for his handling of classified documents, about 25 to 30 of which were discovered in his home and D.C. office earlier this year.
“The federal government and the Justice Department’s gonna run into big trouble if they lay out Trump as this big abuser of national security, when Biden did exactly the same thing,” he said.
The difference is that Biden’s attorneys immediately turned over the documents as soon as they discovered them. Trump, the indictment alleges, knowingly shipped hundreds of classified documents to Mar-a-Lago, showed them off to other people, then schemed to hide them from a federal grand jury.
O’Reilly acknowledged that Trump’s political survival depends on how he addresses that difference with undecided voters.
“He can’t win reelection with the MAGA vote … He’s gotta get independents to pull a lever or lick the envelope for him,” he said. “It comes down to, why? And why weren’t you more cooperative when the National Archives asked, as they should have, for you to send them back? It’s all gonna depend on how Trump answers those questions, and I have no idea how that’s gonna go down.”
Most Republicans, meanwhile, are poised to stand behind Trump despite the charges.
O’Reilly was fired from Fox News in 2017 following reports that he paid $13 million to settle sexual harassment allegations. He was replaced by Tucker Carlson, who was fired in April for undisclosed reasons.
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