"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.
Since he is an ex-president who is guaranteed a secret service detail for life, isn’t he much more likely to be granted house arrest or some other sort of “private” incarceration?
He is, but also because of age. Judges and juries are very lenient on the elderly when it comes to sentencing due to prison survivability. That said, a deal is guaranteed and leniency isn’t, especially when we’re likely talking about white collar prison
While that’s generally true, this case is completely unprecedented. Ex-president charged with stealing top secret documents, obstruction of justice, and who knows what else before we’re done.
Not to mention the other indictments he’s got coming up for election interference and inciting a coup attempt.
No matter how lenient you may want to be, you absolutely cannot set a precedent that the punishment for attempting a coup of the United States government is… confinement to your luxury resort where you can continue to gin up another coup attempt at your leisure. You have to make an example of him or you just invite a repeat of the same attempt over and over again.
Best example of that would be Hitler, actually. After inciting a coup attempt in 1923, although he should have been sentenced to death for that, he only got the minimum possible sentence of five years, with the possibility of an early release. Which he got so he was only incarcerated for nine months, living pretty much in luxury in his own seperate tract of the prison. He used the time to write “Mein Kampf” and prepare his rise to political power.
True. Yet, I still find it extremely difficult to believe he’ll be behind bars anywhere.
I don’t even understand the whole Secret Service argument. If, he were put in prison, the extraordinary level of protection from the actual prison personnel should be just as adequate.
He belongs behind bars at minimum. I think he actually deserves a seat in an electric chair.
His rights to protection are granted by law. The law can also be revised to state that any former president convicted of a federal level felony and subjected to incarceration are no longer eligible.
It’s the prisons problem, like any other high profile prisoner.
Prison problem… yes. They should be able to dismiss Secret Service within the property boundaries.
Other than medical issues that can’t be handled in-house, there is zero reason for cheeto chump to leave the grounds. Video conference should handle any legal issues.
Id argue it doesn’t matter. Protection is granted at the generosity of Congress. It can be revoked, and should be revoked if he is convicted.
There was a plan that (mind you, the law passed before Obama’s election) W was the last president to recieve lifetime protection. All others coming after would get protection for like 4-8 years, then have to pay for it themselves.
Congress reversed course and revised the law to be lifetime again.
The law can change at any moment. They can easily write "this privledge will end if a former president is convinced of a crime and is incarcerated " and solve the logistics problem. It’s not a right. It’s a privledge.
Since he is an ex-president who is guaranteed a secret service detail for life, isn’t he much more likely to be granted house arrest or some other sort of “private” incarceration?
He is, but also because of age. Judges and juries are very lenient on the elderly when it comes to sentencing due to prison survivability. That said, a deal is guaranteed and leniency isn’t, especially when we’re likely talking about white collar prison
While that’s generally true, this case is completely unprecedented. Ex-president charged with stealing top secret documents, obstruction of justice, and who knows what else before we’re done.
Not to mention the other indictments he’s got coming up for election interference and inciting a coup attempt.
No matter how lenient you may want to be, you absolutely cannot set a precedent that the punishment for attempting a coup of the United States government is… confinement to your luxury resort where you can continue to gin up another coup attempt at your leisure. You have to make an example of him or you just invite a repeat of the same attempt over and over again.
Best example of that would be Hitler, actually. After inciting a coup attempt in 1923, although he should have been sentenced to death for that, he only got the minimum possible sentence of five years, with the possibility of an early release. Which he got so he was only incarcerated for nine months, living pretty much in luxury in his own seperate tract of the prison. He used the time to write “Mein Kampf” and prepare his rise to political power.
True. Yet, I still find it extremely difficult to believe he’ll be behind bars anywhere.
I don’t even understand the whole Secret Service argument. If, he were put in prison, the extraordinary level of protection from the actual prison personnel should be just as adequate.
He belongs behind bars at minimum. I think he actually deserves a seat in an electric chair.
His rights to protection are granted by law. The law can also be revised to state that any former president convicted of a federal level felony and subjected to incarceration are no longer eligible.
It’s the prisons problem, like any other high profile prisoner.
Prison problem… yes. They should be able to dismiss Secret Service within the property boundaries.
Other than medical issues that can’t be handled in-house, there is zero reason for cheeto chump to leave the grounds. Video conference should handle any legal issues.
Id argue it doesn’t matter. Protection is granted at the generosity of Congress. It can be revoked, and should be revoked if he is convicted.
There was a plan that (mind you, the law passed before Obama’s election) W was the last president to recieve lifetime protection. All others coming after would get protection for like 4-8 years, then have to pay for it themselves.
Congress reversed course and revised the law to be lifetime again.
The law can change at any moment. They can easily write "this privledge will end if a former president is convinced of a crime and is incarcerated " and solve the logistics problem. It’s not a right. It’s a privledge.