Jeffrey Toobin & Alan Dershowitz on the Manafort Trial

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Do you think as the White House says that this has nothing to do with the president, Jeff?

JEFFREY TOOBIN: No, absolutely not. I think that’s preposterous. I mean, whether it leads to criminal behavior or

disclosure of criminal behavior, whether it leads to impeachment is very much an open question and it may not.

But the idea that Paul Manafort is some stranger and this case is entirely unrelated to the Trump campaign is just silly.

ALAN DERSHOWITZ: I agree.

AMANPOUR: What about the fact that we know, because they say is, that the Trump legal team and the Manafort legal team are talking to each other?

So, do they not know, all of them, what actually is in the substance of what perhaps he’s going to say?

DERSHOWITZ: Well, it’s inevitable if they would talk to each other. If the Manafort team was willing to talk to the Trump team, any good lawyer

would want to make sure they know in advance what might be disclosed.

Now, whether Manafort is telling the Trump team everything or whether or not he is going to sing bloominously (ph) or as Judge Ellis put it, not

only sing but perhaps compose because people know they get a better deal sometimes if they can elaborate on the story and make it a little bit

better fit the narrative of the prosecutor.

I’m not suggesting that’s what’s happening here but there’s always the risk of that. So, of course, you’re going to have this kind of contact.

TOOBIN: And there’s certainly was that kind of contact in the past, but a lot of things have changed. I mean, remember, Paul Manafort went to trial

in Virginia, his deputy, Rick Gates, testified against him and his lawyer spent all this time of accusing Rick Gates of lying, of making things up.

He has now confessed that Rick Gates was telling the truth.

So, Manafort’s position has changed. And it may well be that what he told — what his lawyers told the Trump lawyers is no longer operative. So,

time — you know, and so, the fact is that it doesn’t matter that —

AMANPOUR: Should the president be feeling nervous?

DERSHOWITZ: Of course, he should be feeling nervous. But remember, too, that what’s changed is Manafort’s credibility. Manafort has now admitted

he has lied repeatedly and therefore, is not the most useful eye or ear witness. He is very useful in providing investigators with self-

corroborating information. But putting him on the stand would be risky because he’s obviously admitted to being a liar and he’s now made a deal,

but he could perhaps provide information that’s self-proving,