Former federal prosecutor: ‘Appreciable chance’ Trump dies in prison if he loses reelection bid
A former federal prosecutor says there is an “appreciable chance” former President Trump could be in prison until the end of his life if he loses the 2024 election, remarking on the number and scope of criminal prosecutions against him.
Harry Litman, a former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania during the Clinton administration, made the remarks to former Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) on his podcast Wednesday.
“If he doesn’t win, he has an appreciable chance of dying in prison,” Litman said. “The whole timeline, the whole crisis point of November goes away. So, if he doesn’t win on [November] the fifth, those cases lie ready to bring.”
He said that if Trump wins the election, he is likely to use his authority over the Department of Justice to make its two criminal cases against him go away, and use the office of the presidency to avoid prosecution in Georgia’s state 2020 election case.
Trump has already been convicted of 34 felony business fraud counts in his New York hush money case. He has appealed the conviction, but is scheduled to be sentenced in July. He could get up to four years in prison for the charges.
Litman predicted Judge Juan Merchan will sentence Trump to a few months in prison for the business fraud charges, though he potentially wouldn’t have to serve it for years, pending appeal.
The three other cases Trump face include a D.C.-based federal prosecution for election fraud and Trump’s actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots; a Florida-based federal case for mishandling classified documents and obstructing the government’s efforts to recover them; and the Georgia state case over attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Both the Florida and Georgia cases have been delayed indefinitely, and the D.C. case has been paused while the Supreme Court considers Trump’s bid for immunity.
Trump currently holds a 1-point lead over President Biden in The Hill/Decision Desk HQ average of polls.
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