Trump’s GOP challengers “smell blood in the water”: Kirschner

Former President Donald Trump‘s legal woes have his 2024 GOP presidential primary challengers smelling “blood in the water,” according to former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner.

Kirschner, an MSNBC legal analyst, said during the latest episode of his Justice Matters podcast on Thursday that the purported existence of an audio recording featuring Trump discussing his post-presidency possession of a classified document could be a “turning point” in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s federal criminal investigation of the former president.

The legal expert argued that a recent avalanche of Republicans declaring their intentions to compete with Trump for the 2024 nomination indicates that they sense the former president’s “political demise” is near due to his potential indictment on federal charges that could include espionage.

GOP hopefuls including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and radio talk show host Larry Elder have all announced 2024 campaigns in recent weeks, while former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former Vice President Mike Pence are expected to announce their campaigns soon.

“It’s not just Ron DeSantis and Chris Christie and Mike Pence, but it’s also Tim Scott,” said Kirschner. “They’ve all thrown their hat into the ring. Why all of a sudden are they all entering the presidential race for the Republican nomination? Because they smell blood in the water. They can sense Donald Trump’s political demise.”

“We now know that Donald Trump very likely violated our nation’s espionage laws,” he continued. “This is a crime that is just too easy to prove given the audio recording. And this is a crime that is too big and too serious and too dangerous not to indict.”

Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s office via email for comment.

In previous comments to Newsweek, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung denounced Kirschner as “a notorious trafficker of wild conspiracy theories and dubious legal analysis” who “has been shunned by the legal community at large.”

As the purported Trump recording was only first reported by CNN this week, it is unlikely to have played any role in the recent announcements of new 2024 GOP primary candidates.

However, the former president’s legal difficulties have been piling up throughout the year as more Republican candidates have announced their campaigns.

In addition to Smith’s classified-documents investigation, the special counsel is also investigating Trump over his activities related to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and ill-fated attempts to overturn President Joe Biden‘s 2020 election win.

The ex-president is already facing 34 state felony charges of falsifying business records in New York, while a grand jury in Georgia is expected to decide later this year on possible state charges related to an attempt to overturn his 2020 loss in the Peach State.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing, arguing that all of the charges, investigations and civil lawsuits he is facing are part of a politically motivated “witch hunt” instigated by Democrats.

Regardless of Trump’s legal troubles, Republican primary voters appear to be sticking with the former president. An average of recent polls compiled by RealClearPolitics indicates that Trump remains the overwhelming favorite for the GOP nomination, leading his nearest rival, DeSantis, by more than 30 points.