NY prosecutor who won against Trump lays out 'key elements' of his successful 'playbook'

03 February 2024

Tristan Snell successfully prosecuted Trump University while he was an assistant attorney general in the office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, securing a $25 million verdict in 2017. Now, Snell is sharing his strategies in hopes of other prosecutors defeating Trump in both civil and criminal court.

In a recent essay for the Daily Beast, Snell said winning against the former president in the courtroom requires adhering to four "key elements" that include "courageous leadership, a stoic refusal to be distracted or daunted by Trump’s counterattacks and diversions, dogged and comprehensive investigation and devotion to savvy communication not only in court filings but with the media and the public."

"Courage is the first item on the list for a good reason: it’s the indispensable ingredient, and without it, failure beckons," Snell wrote. "Any proper prosecution follows the facts and the law, but one must first have the courage to do so, especially when the facts and the law will lead to a high-profile target who will counterattack savagely."

Snell also warned that prosecutors need courage to stick with their case and not be prone to corruption, as the former president "has a long history of donations to prosecutors’ campaigns right around the time those prosecutors dropped investigations against Trump." He also spoke to Trump's propensity for applying pressure to investigators by using "his own well-worn playbook — delay, divert and destroy."

"He’ll refuse to comply with subpoenas; he’ll create delays with additional motions or appeals; he’ll try to destroy the reputations of the prosecutors, the judges and even their staff and families," Snell wrote. "Through it all, brave opponents must stand firm and stick to their arguments and their evidence, avoiding any distractions."

The attack strategy Snell described is evident in his ongoing civil fraud trial, in which he has launched repeated attacks on both New York Attorney General Letitia James and Judge Arthur Engoron via his Truth Social platform. Those attacks have resulted in "credible" threats to both Engoron and his law clerk, Allison Greenfield, both of whom were reportedly "inundated" with anti-Semitic death threats after for the former president targeted them on social media.

Snell also urged prosecutors to make "truly extraordinary efforts" to try Trump both in the court of law and in the court of public opinion, saying "it’s crucial to occupy that ground before he does" and that a "well-structured narrative" is paramount.

"This playbook may seem simple, but it requires exceptional discipline and dedication to playing the long game, grinding it out, and eventually wearing Trump down—either winning in court, or winning a settlement," Snell wrote. "And this is the playbook that many of the current prosecutors and litigants are deploying: these cases have seemed slow, but, out of public view, they have accumulated massive amounts of evidence that they are pushing forward, every day, until the momentum is unstoppable."

Click here to read Snell's essay in full (subscription required).

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