Trump may not go to prison. Legal experts in America explain the reasons why Donald Trump should not be sent to prison.
After the fourth accusation against “Donald Trump”, the discussions about a former American president may be sent to prison for the first time have intensified.
What charges does Trump face?
Donald Trump, who is the leading candidate of the Republican Party in the intra-party phase of the 2024 US presidential election, is facing a total of 91 criminal charges.
He, along with 18 other suspects, has been charged with 13 counts of attempting to overturn the election results in the state of Georgia during the 2020 presidential election. This is the most important case against Trump.
In another case, he has been accused of keeping secret US documents after leaving the White House. This case is the first federal criminal charge against a former US president, in which Trump was accused of 37 counts of crimes, including knowingly keeping sensitive defense information and obstruction of justice. A few weeks later, prosecutors added three more felonies to Trump’s charges in the case, bringing his total to 40.
Another case against Trump is related to his attempt to overturn the election results before the January 6, 2021 riot. In this complaint, which contains four charges, Trump has been accused of crimes such as conspiracy to defraud the government and conspiracy to obstruct the confirmation of President Joe Biden by Congress.
In addition, Trump in March became the first US president to face criminal charges for paying hush money to a porn star in 2016 and for tampering with business documents.
He denied 34 charges against him in this case. In this case, each of the charges against Trump is punishable by up to 4 years in prison.
Punishment for Trump’s crimes
Among these cases, two cases of trying to invalidate the election in Georgia and keeping secret documents are considered a serious threat to Trump and could technically lead to his imprisonment.
For example, many media have speculated that Trump may be sentenced to at least 5 years in prison in the case of trying to overturn the election results; A punishment that will be considered very heavy for a 77-year-old person.
Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, wrote in a note in the USA Today newspaper that Trump’s age may be one of the factors that will deter the American justice system from sending him to prison.
Factors reducing the probability of Trump being imprisoned
However, age is not the only factor that makes Trump less likely to be imprisoned. The fact that Trump’s accusations are tied to his intention to run for the 2024 elections is another factor that complicates the issue of his imprisonment.
Turley wrote that it is not possible to quickly process Trump’s case regarding the attempt to nullify the election, and Trump’s trial in this case may be postponed until after the presidential election next year.
Even if this court is held in the middle of the election, Trump’s conviction will not prevent him from running in the elections or even becoming the president.
If Trump is found guilty, most courts will allow him to remain free pending the outcome of the appeals court. This process itself will take about 2 years.
If Trump wins the 2024 election and the judge orders his imprisonment, this issue will face an immediate problem. At the time, Trump’s lawyers would argue that imprisoning a sitting president would interfere with his federal duties.
Dealing with this problem will take time, and according to Turley, the federal courts may consider Salah to stay his sentence until the end of his term in office.
This state is only for when Trump wins the election and based on ifs and ifs, it cannot be said that he will not be sent to prison. Experts say that if he does not win the election, the probability of Trump being imprisoned is low.
Alan Dershowitz, an American lawyer who specializes in the US Constitution, also predicted in an interview on Monday that Trump will be convicted but not jailed.
He said that the biggest danger that threatens Trump is in the case of the state of Georgia (attempt to nullify the election), which should lead to the highest probability of a prison sentence for him. “But I predict he’ll never go to jail,” he said.
Explaining the reasons for this argument, Dershowitz says: “My opinion is that no one would send a politician to jail who is going to run against an incumbent president unless the evidence against him is very strong; That is, there should be either a confession and acknowledgment [of a crime] or very court-friendly evidence.”
