"If the government can prove this aspect of the case, it will be exceptionally difficult for the former president to mount a defense," Paul Collins said.
The NYS charges are a joke. Yes, it’s a crime, but it’s also the kind of thing that would normally get pled out to the level of a parking ticket if it was a one-off thing. Which this appears to be. (One-off, in this case, meaning that they don’t have multiple instances to charge him with.) It looks political, because it probably is. Jail time is incredibly unlikely, even if the case wraps prior to the election.
Fani Willis here in GA will have a pretty solid case, assuming that the grand jury indicts (which is probable). But that case will probably get bumped in favor of the federal charges, and would be unlikely to go to trial, and be concluded prior to the election. And if Trump wins prior to the trial being concluded, then a conviction won’t matter. Yeah, he can’t pardon himself from state charges, but he’s not going to prison while he’s in office.
The NYS charges are a joke. Yes, it’s a crime, but it’s also the kind of thing that would normally get pled out to the level of a parking ticket if it was a one-off thing. Which this appears to be. (One-off, in this case, meaning that they don’t have multiple instances to charge him with.) It looks political, because it probably is. Jail time is incredibly unlikely, even if the case wraps prior to the election.
Fani Willis here in GA will have a pretty solid case, assuming that the grand jury indicts (which is probable). But that case will probably get bumped in favor of the federal charges, and would be unlikely to go to trial, and be concluded prior to the election. And if Trump wins prior to the trial being concluded, then a conviction won’t matter. Yeah, he can’t pardon himself from state charges, but he’s not going to prison while he’s in office.