I wonder if you just pardoned a few of the people around him, if they would turn on him.
Maybe pardon one of his sons, but not the other. Jared, but not Ivanka. Giuliani, but not Barr.
Here’s his rationale:
The 73 million Americans who voted to re-elect Trump two weeks ago will be just as angry about a good faith federal investigation of Trump after he has left office as Democrats were angry about Trump’s baseless chant to lock up his former political opponents.
So we should avoid prosecuting someone for crimes he actually committed because people will be more angry about the prosecution than the crimes? And that anger is somehow the equivalent of ours at the absolutely baseless, banana republic threats made by the perpetrator of those crimes?
Yeah, fuck that.
Considering that 47% of the people voted for him (a fact whose implications I still cannot absorb) what are the odds of finding 12 people who would vote unanimously to convict? True, you couldn’t find 12 who would vote to acquit either, but Trump would turn a hung jury into an acquittal in the eyes of his supporters. Almost better to parrot Ford, say that the long national nightmare is over and let’s move on.
I think the same problem will arise if he is prosecuted in NY (City or State). But he will not get off free. He is still personally liable for $400 M and maybe $100 M owed in taxes.
I raised the same questions a few days ago in one of these threads. It was pointed out that Trump is widely reviled in New York, so it’s at least possible to get an jury that might convict him.
I also noted that his crimes in NY are largely financial crimes or similar, which might be charged as civil offenses. These require a lesser degree of proof (preponderance of evidence rather than “beyond a reasonable doubt”). I also questioned whether civil trials require a unanimous jury to convict, which drew several different responses. (Also noted that civil trials do not “convict”, they “find liability”.)
This nasty thought just occurred to me:
What if Trump is holding off concession, filing all these frivolous suits, and gladhanding Republican flunkies on the county election boards, all for a bid for amnesty from any and all prosecution? Self-pardoning has by no means solid legal precedent, and even if he resigns and Pence pardons him, that won’t cover state prosecution (e.g. SDNY)
What if he makes a bid to concede the election, allow the transition team access to funds and security briefings, and agree to ride off into the sunset…in exchange for amnesty from every jurisdiction with any criminal charges?
I can’t imagine a single jurisdiction who would take him up on that offer.
Who could have the authority to grant such amnesty?
An independent Justice Department may prosecute him.
Yeah, but we are speaking about Donald Trump, who might believe that will happen.
To ask is of course to answer.
And Joe Biden has pledged not to.
Florida might not extradite, but can’t say that in advance.
Rudy’s press conference today was all about making never-ending Trump drama our future.
I have a question for any lawyers here, or legal wannabees.
Given that Florida is trending GOP, and that every member of the Florida Supreme Court is, and likely will remain, GOP-selected, how realistic it is that Florida would extradite Donald Trump to New York?
I don’t consider a federal prosecution likely, due to the coming self-pardon, but what about a federal arrest? Does that ever require extradition, or can a federal marshall grab you, for trial in another state, without any such formality?
It’s in the Constitution, Article IV, Section 2:
A person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.
I would assume that the Federal Marshals could be used if the state is recalcitrant.
What if he isn’t fleeing, but just staying where he has publicly announced he is (Mar-a-Lago)?
Googling, it sounds like acceptance of such a tendentious constitutional interpretation might depend on how many U.S. Supreme Court justices consider Puerto Rico v. Branstad a super precedent.
Trump would surely litigate ever step in the process through as many appeals as possible, hoping to drag it out until the point where he can claim to be too old and frail to stand trial (or until a future Trumpy president basically ends the rule of law).
It is extraordinarily rare for states to deny intrastate extradition, and when they do, the feds tend to make them do it anyway.