“Did your office conclude that a stand-alone felony charge for these hush-money payments wasn’t worth it because of so many of the uncertainties around the legal theory?” host Chuck Todd asked.

At first, Vance reiterated that federal attorneys in the Southern District of New York had asked his office to “stand down.” Then he implied that his office did not pursue a felony case against Trump because such a case is unprecedented — not just against a former president, but against anyone.

“I don’t want to get into our deliberations. But we have historically filed cases of false documentation, elevating them to felonies, when federal statutes were involved,” Vance began.

“It’s never been done, that I know of, with regard to federal election law, which is quite a, you know, specific area of law,” he added.