A former federal prosecutor said it was “quite likely” that former President Trump would remain in prison until the end of his life if he lost the 2024 presidential election, citing the number and scope of criminal charges filed against him.
Harry Litman, a former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania during the Clinton administration, told former Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) on his podcast Wednesday.
“If he doesn’t win, there’s a pretty good chance he’ll die in prison,” Litman said. “The whole schedule, the whole crunch point for November is gone. So if he doesn’t win on November 5, that case is ready to be filed.”
He said Trump, if elected, would likely use his power over the Justice Department to quash two criminal cases against him and use his presidency to avoid prosecution in a 2020 election case in Georgia.
Trump has already been convicted of 34 counts of felony business fraud in the New York ticket case. He has appealed his conviction but is scheduled to be sentenced in July. He could face up to four years in prison on the charges.
Litman predicted Judge Juan Merchan would sentence Trump to several months in prison for business fraud. But while the appeal is pending, it’s possible Trump won’t have to serve many years in prison.
The three other cases Trump faces include a D.C.-based federal indictment for election fraud and Trump’s actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. a federal case in Florida that alleged mishandling of classified documents and impeding government efforts to recover them; A Georgia case over an attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
Both the Florida and Georgia cases were postponed indefinitely, and the D.C. case was also halted while the Supreme Court reviewed President Trump’s application for immunity.
Trump currently leads President Biden by one point in The Hill/Decision Desk HQ polling average.
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