EAST LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – Former President Donald Trump’s federal case is being closely watched by legal scholars all over the country, including here in Michigan.
This comes after Trump was charged last month in Manhattan with falsifying business records.
A law professor with Cooley Law School said the classified documents case against the former president has much higher stakes.
Professor Michael McDaniel said the accusations related to mishandling of classified documents come with harsher penalties and could even be a risk to national security.
McDaniel, who had a career in military and homeland security, says the documents found could have valuable information that’s still sensitive to current policies.
He said one of the main differences between the federal and New York state cases is the added political pressure the Manhattan District Attorney could be facing.
“You know, Merrick Garland was certainly appointed by President Biden, but Merrick Garland appointed a special prosecutor. The individuals involved are all career prosecutors. Career members of the Department of Justice. So there’s no direct impact on them like Alvin Bragg in Manhattan in the New York case,” said McDaniel.
Donald Trump was in a Miami courthouse Tuesday to plead “not guilty” to the charges in the classified documents case before flying north to his golf club in New Jersey.
