Trump lawyer: 'Technical violation of the Constitution is not a violation of criminal law'

A lawyer defending Donald Trump against Jan. 6 charges related to the 2020 election argued Sunday that his client’s actions may amount to a violation of the Constitution but not criminal law.

Attorney John Lauro disputed that Mr. Trump asked former Vice President Mike Pence to act criminally by rejecting the election’s results. Mr. Lauro said the two men simply had disagreements about the certification process. 

“A technical violation of the Constitution is not a violation of criminal law,” Mr. Lauro said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “That’s just plain wrong, and to say that is contrary to decades of legal statute.”

Mr. Lauro made rounds on other major networks’ Sunday shows, including ABC, CNN, CBS and Fox. He said on “Fox News Sunday” that the latest charges were “an effort to prevent President Trump from running for president.”

In a separate appearance on “Meet the Press,” Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, a member of the Jan. 6 House Committee and the lead impeachment manager during Mr. Trump‘s second trial, called Mr. Lauro‘s legal theory “deranged.”