Frank Figliuzzi is the former assistant director for counterintelligence at the FBI and is currently national security contributor for NBC News.
As well as the impeachment inquiry centered on claims the U.S. president pressured his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to get dirt on 2020 Democrat rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter, House Democrats continue their pursuit of Trump’s tax returns.
Discussing the legal difficulties that the president now faces, Figliuzzi was asked by the host of the Mike Lupica podcast whether he believed there would be a scenario in which Trump would resign his office voluntarily.
Figliuzzi said: “We are not close enough yet. He has to see it as a win. So a deal would have to be presented to him that he views as victory, meaning either his family escapes prosecution, or he has a non prosecution agreement in place.”
A Fox news poll has found that a new high of 51 percent of people want to see Trump impeached and removed from office, up from 42 percent in July and showing that public opinion is shifting towards his ousting.
The proportion of people who do not want him impeached has gone down to 40 percent, down 5 percent from July.
Figliuzzi said it was common in public corruption cases in local politics for an offer to be made to a politician to quit if they “poisoned the government of that state” and that could mean that “some kind of deal is worked out.”
However Figliuzzi said Trump was unlikely to exit the stage quietly.
“Here’s the problem with Trump. Number one, I don’t think he really cares about his family members being prosecuted. Number two, he is facing state exposure, so this ’non-pros’ (non-prosecution) agreement would have to be federal and state.
“The state of New York in particular would have to weigh in and go, ‘OK, we’re not going to hit him if he steps down, or we’ll only hit him with the following charges.’”
“Since we’re dealing with a man who cares only about ego…if it can be presented to him as a win and he’s not being impeached and disgraced or even voted out of office, it could happen, but it’s very complicated.”
Trump used his rally in Minneapolis on Thursday as a chance to reiterate his refrain that the impeachment inquiry was a “witch hunt,” telling those present that “the wretched Washington swamp has been trying to nullify the results of a truly great and democratic election.
“They want to erase your voice and they want to erase your future, but they will fail, because in America the people rule again,” he said, according to CNN.
Regarding the Ukraine probe into Trump’s conduct, EU ambassador Gordon Sondland will testify in front of the House under subpoena next week, CNN reported.
