Jill Wine-Banks, a prosecutor in the Watergate scandal, on Thursday described the latest allegations leveled against Donald Trump in the classified documents case as “a blockbuster.” She also wondered whether it could actually, finally, turn the former president’s devoted base against him.
Special counsel Jack Smith on Thursday brought three new felony charges against Trump in his investigation into the former president’s alleged mishandling of top-secret materials after he left the White House.
“It reminded me first of all how powerful the original indictment was, and with this added information, it is absolutely a blockbuster,” Wine-Banks told MSNBC’s Joy Reid.
It “reminds me of what happened in Watergate,” she continued. “The obstruction, the concealment, a cover-up, it’s all happening.”
Wine-Banks pondered whether this could be “the straw that breaks the camel’s back” when it comes to Trump’s unflinching supporters, who have stuck with the former president through two impeachments and a myriad of post-presidency legal woes.
“Is this when the MAGA crowd finally goes, ‘Oh my God, like Richard Nixon, he is a crook. He’s terrible. He is really not helping us. He is acting in his own regards,’” she asked.