EXCLUSIVE: Alan Dershowitz reveals why he does NOT think Trump ruined his defense by admitting it was ‘his decision’ to try to overturn the election – despite legal experts saying he ‘threw his case under a freight train’

Legal expert Alan Dershowitz said Donald Trump did not derail a potential legal defense when he said on “Meet the Press” that it was “my decision” to push to overturn the 2020 election.

Other legal experts said Trump let his “ego” get in the way of a promising courtroom defense when he was questioned on NBC about his difficult legal situation, predicting his latest public comments would be used against him. This came just after special counsel Jack Smith asked a federal judge to issue a partial silence order to prevent Trump from potentially tainting the jury pool during his Jan. 6 trial.

The new Sunday show’s moderator, Kristen Welker, repeatedly asked Trump in an interview if he was “making the call” in his bid to overturn the election – in a scene with parallels in Hollywood where prosecutors attempt to induce a witness to admit their own agency.

But Dershowitz tells DailyMail.com that there is no binary choice between the decisions a defendant makes and the legal advice they get. It’s a defense Trump’s lawyers plan to use in federal court in Washington, DC.

“It’s a question of degree. It’s not that human beings have an on/off switch. Either it’s my decision or I followed my lawyer’s advice. Very often you will get a mixed decision, one in which the individual makes the decision but he does so based on the advice of an attorney,” the former Harvard law professor said.

Continuing the analogy, he compared it to a dimmer switch and attacked Harvard legal scholar Lawrence Tribe, who likened Trump’s confession to a freight train crashing into his legal team before the trial.

“Tribe trivializes and creates a reductionist view of the human mind as if it were a light switch. It’s not. It’s a variator. It’s a continuum. And you can both seek advice from a lawyer and ultimately make your own decision,” he said.

The nature of the advice is not what matters – with special counsel Jack Smith accusing Trump of spreading lies to overturn a democratic election. Former Vice President Mike Pence’s former chief of staff, Marc Short, called some of Trump’s advisers “crazy lawyers,” and some reports indicate that Trump himself mocked some of their theories during his tenure.

“It doesn’t have to be good advice. Many people who win their case, on the advice of a lawyer, have the court decide that the advice was not appropriate,” he said.

Dershowitz said Monday that he had just returned from his doctor’s office.

“The doctor gave me some advice. But I made the decision whether to do it or not,” he said.

But he stopped short when asked whether such a defense was powerful — when Trump faces years in prison and multiple indictments in multiple courtrooms.

“I wouldn’t say it’s powerful. I would say sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t,” he said.

Trump’s lawyers are having to deal with his latest comments, even as they ask a federal judge not to try to muzzle him.

The comments came during Trump’s confrontation, filmed by Welker at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

After discussing his questions for a bit, Trump told him, “As for whether or not I thought it was rigged?” Oh, sure. It was my decision. But I listened to some people. Some people have said that,” said the first.

Former Obama administration deputy solicitor general Neal Katyal said it was a damaging admission, undermining defense advice given by Trump.

“The defense of Donald Trump until January 6 was a fundamental thing: I relied on the advice of my lawyers. (That) I did not have bad criminal intentions, it was my lawyers who told me to do that,” Katyal told MSNBC.

“And she took him through masterful interviews and playing with his ego (saying), Oh no, I did all that myself. And if you’re Jack Smith this morning, you’re going to say thank you, that’s what I always thought, and yes, you hired all these kinds of crazy lawyers, but at the end of the day, it’s you through and through, “he said, s ‘speaking on the network’s “Inside With Jen Psaki,” hosted by Biden’s former press secretary.

He said the comment “demonstrates her guilt on the spot and it makes the case that Judge (Tanya) Chutkan will be tried on March 4 much easier.”

Also speaking out was Tribe, who also argued that Trump should be disqualified from holding public office.

“Trump just threw his entire ‘take my lawyers’ advice’ defense under the bus,” Tribe tweeted. “No, let me correct that: – not just under the bus, but under a huge, roaring, high-speed freight train…” he added.

Trump was asked about reports of his own past comments that some of his lawyers during this period had wild theories about the election. He deflected the question from his reported comments about attorney Sidney Powell, instead going after his former attorney general Bill Barr, who called some of the theories Trump put forward “bull****.”

“You hire them, you’ve never met these people, you get a recommendation, they turn out to be RINOs or they’re not that good,” Trump said, using the pejorative “Republicans in name only,” a term he uses regularly. slap in the face to Barr, who left his post in the final weeks of the administration.

“In many cases, I have not complied with them,” Trump said. “But I respected others; I respected many others who said the election was rigged.

Trump also spoke about his decision to speak out on election night and demand that the count be stopped, even as election workers across the country were still counting legally cast votes.

“You know who I listen to? Myself. I saw what happened. I looked at this election and thought it was over at 10 p.m.,” Trump said.

Welker asked if he listened to his instincts.

“My instinct plays a big part in it. That’s what got me to where I am, my instinct. But I also listen to people. There are a lot of lawyers,” he said.

“I was listening to different people. And when I added it all up, the election was rigged,” he said.