Trump's tweets are being used in the defense of the bike-path terrorist trial

Donald Trump's old tweets often land him in embarrassing situations as he has a skill for really putting his foot in it.

He's been caught out in the past for criticising the likes of Barack Obama and Ted Cruz, but now a few old tweets are being used in a court of law.

In the case of Sayfullo Saipov, 'the bike path terrorist' who is accused of mowing down dozens of people in a New York City bike lane, last November, Trump's tweets about the incident are being used to argue he should not be subjected to the death penalty.

Saipov, whose attack left eight people dead, was lambasted by Trump on Twitter, who demanded that he receive the death penalty for his crime.

Saipov's defence lawyers have argued that because Trump chose to share his opinions on the case, as well as the pressure put on attorney general Jeff Sessions to enforce the death penalty, he has made it impossible for the Justice Department to fairly judge the case.

The New York Post quotes the lawyers as saying:

A decision not to seek death would expose the decision-maker to a blaze of public scorn and ridicule as well as the possible loss of employment.

They added that they want the judge for the case to block government officials from seeking the death sentence or appoint an independent prosecutor.

The lawyers continue:

As soon as Mr Saipov was arrested, president Trump, without knowing a thing about Mr Saipov and barely anything about the crime itself, peremptorily instructed his attorney general to ‘move fast’ to execute Mr Saipov.

The pressure from Mr Trump’s intemperate demands are simply too great for attorney general Sessions or anyone else who works for president Trump to appropriately exercise the fact-based, independent decision-making process.

Reports show that they have specifically named recent tweets from Trump, where he criticised Sessions and the Justice Department for bringing criminal charges against two Republican Congressmen just ahead of the mid-term elections.

HT New York Post

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