On Wednesday, Anthony Scaramucci, former White House communications director, expressed his belief that former President Trump is attempting to manipulate lawmakers into disputing evidence on his behalf as he confronts the possibility of a third indictment from the Justice Department’s Jan. 6 investigation.
In a video released on Tuesday, Trump called upon Congress to scrutinize the “political witch hunts” targeting him, which he once again characterized as interference in the 2024 election. Nevertheless, Scaramucci intimated that Trump was hinting at a somewhat different message for lawmakers.
Scaramucci suggested on NewsNation’s “The Hill” that Trump is essentially communicating the following to the lawmakers: “Postpone the investigation. Rally behind me. I’m going to be president again. Despite the fact that you saw people fleeing for their lives and heard me orchestrating it in advance on tape, you have to downplay that and manipulate public perception on my behalf. If you fail to do this, and I regain the presidency, it won’t bode well for you.”
Trump is on the brink of facing his third indictment, having been notified earlier this month that the Justice Department’s investigation into the Jan. 6 riot is targeting him. The receipt of the target letter suggests that prosecutors might be closing in on an indictment.
Earlier this year, the Manhattan district attorney charged the former president over a 2016 hush money payment, and the Justice Department indicted him for allegedly mishandling classified documents and attempting to hinder their retrieval by the government.
In Tuesday’s video, Trump stated, “This ongoing saga is a punishment against me for winning and, more importantly to them, meddling with the 2024 presidential election. It will be their revamped method of manipulating our most significant election.”
However, Scaramucci, on Wednesday, characterized Trump’s message as one of “intimidation,” implying that Trump will retaliate against congressmen and women who fail to back him.