After former President Donald Trump announced he was being indicted by the Department of Justice Thursday night, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow suggested there could be a plea deal where Trump gets less punishment for agreeing to bow out of the presidential race.
Maddow advocated for the idea as a potential "political solution to this criminal problem" while on MSNBC’s "The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell."
Host O’Donnell argued that Trump’s legal defense team would have to be the side that pushes the quid pro quo, so the prosecution can avoid the accusation that the whole indictment is just a way to get Trump to stay out of the 2024 race.
Maddow’s suggestion came only a couple of hours after Trump revealed he had been informed that he was to be indicted on federal charges relating to his handling of classified documents.
According to the yet-to-be-unsealed indictment, Trump is now a criminal defendant charged with at least seven counts involving obstruction of justice, conspiracy, and illegal retention of classified government material. He has been ordered to appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday.
Maddow began by telling O’Donnell, "You have to wonder if the Justice Department is considering whether there is some political solution to this criminal problem. Whether part of the issue here is not just that Trump has committed crimes, but that Trump has committed crimes and plans on being back in the White House."
She then clarified what she meant, saying, "Do they consider as part of a potential plea offer, something that would proscribe him… proscribe him from running for office again? I don’t know."
O’Donnell played with the idea, though he claimed such a deal would have to be proposed by Trump’s legal team, otherwise it might convey that the Department of Justice is out to stop Trump from running for office.
He said, "I would imagine if anything like that happened that it would have to come from the defense side of the negotiation. That the Trump team would say, ‘Oh, by the way, and with this, we will also, you know, drop out of the race for president.'"
He added, "Otherwise, it would put the Justice Department in this position that Donald Trump claims they’re in. You know he claims they’re trying to stop him, simply trying to stop him from becoming president again, and that’s the only reason they’re doing this."
During an interview with Fox News Digital on Thursday, Trump called the case "election interference" and "the greatest witch hunt of all time."
Prominent Trump allies and surrogates pointed to Maddow’s theory on Thursday as a taste of what the federal government and its allies in mainstream media may do with Trump – use the case as leverage to get him to stop running in 2024.
Donald Trump Jr. shared the MSNBC clip to Twitter, saying, "Are you paying attention yet? They're saying the quiet part loud."
Prominent MAGA Twitter account "The Columbia Bugle" commented, "Rachel Maddow Admitting What This Trump Indictment Is Really About."
Trump senior advisor Jason Miller tweeted the same, claiming, "Saying the quiet part out loud…this is the Democrats’ entire strategy to try to beat 2024 frontrunner @realDonaldTrump!!!"
