“If you were a serious lawyer,” says Neal Katyal, you would not write this letter and give it to the press
Trump lawyers John Rowley and James Trusty requested the meeting with Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday to “present arguments that Trump should not be charged in the investigation related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents,” sources familiar with the situation told ABC News.
In the letter, which the former president shared on Truth Social, Rowley and Trusty argued that Trump is “being treated unfairly.”
“Unlike President Biden, his son Hunter, and the Biden family, President Trump is being treated unfairly,” the letter says. “No President of the United States has ever, in the history of our country, been baselessly investigated in such an outrageous and unlawful fashion. We request a meeting at your earliest convenience to discuss the ongoing injustice that is being perpetrated by your Special Counsel and his prosecutors.”
Reactions to the letter mounted on Wednesday with legal experts criticizing the Trump attorneys’ arguments and even dubbing the letter a ploy to curry favor from Trump’s base of supporters.
As ever, Team Trump foolishly mixes law and politics. If you have one point to make to get a meeting with the AG, comparing Trump to “Hunter and the Biden family” is not the way to go. The letter was written for public consumption
— Harry Litman (@harrylitman) May 24, 2023
"If you were a serious lawyer and you wanted to have a meeting with the attorney general, the way to do it is not write this letter which is all about Hunter Biden and being treated unfairly and then giving it to the press right away" – @neal_katyal w/ @NicolleDWallace pic.twitter.com/DoduurcpHm
— Deadline White House (@DeadlineWH) May 24, 2023