Donald Trump negotiates terms of surrender inside Mar-a-Lago following his impeachment

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First came the bombshell announcement. Negotiations have now come between the high-profile defendant and those seeking his arrest.

A New York grand jury made history this week after voting to indict former US president Donald Trump for financial crimes.

It is believed that Mr Trump and his lawyers are now engaged in quiet talks with New York officials about exactly how they will take a former commander-in-chief into custody, fingerprint and book him. , and sue him.

This negotiation takes place within the walls of his beloved Florida home Mar-a-Lago, a sprawling and luxurious estate, complete with three bunkers, which he purchased in 1985.

It’s quite fitting that a former president uses Mar-a-Lago as his base while the long, cold arm of the law tries to reach him from New York.

Mar-a-Lago was granted to the United States government in 1973 to serve as a “Winter White House” of the heir to a cereal fortune.

Marjorie Merriweather Post wanted it to be a place where presidents and foreign dignitaries could escape the cold and stress of Washington DC.

But US statesmen weren’t interested so it was put back on the market and eventually picked up by Mr Trump.

Mar-a-Lagois guarded by the Secret Service and Donald Trump’s private security. (Reuters:Ricardo Arduengo)

Being a brash, big-talking New Yorker was always central to Mr Trump’s personality until he turned his back on the city in 2019.

While still occupying the White House, he changed his residence from 721 Fifth Avenue aka Trump Tower to Mar-a-Lago, blaming “political leaders of both the city and the state” for treating him “so badly”.

But it seems more likely that he will call Trump Tower once again as he returns to the city where he made his name to answer criminal charges.

How do you arrest a president?

The timeline is still unclear and potentially undecided.

Mr Trump is due in court by mid-afternoon local time on Tuesday.

He would make the trip to New York the day before perhaps to give himself some room in case the weather turned bad.

It is highly unlikely that he would fly commercially.

Instead, he is expected to make the 10-minute drive from Mar-a-Lago to West Palm Beach where his $US100 million Boeing 757 is currently parked.

The question is who will go there to meet him.

On March 18, Mr Trump told his supporters at the Truth Social that he would be ‘ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK’ and pleaded with them to “PROTEST, LIVE OUR COUNTRY!”.

Fans of the former president gathered outside his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, to show their support. (ABC News: Dickon Mager)

There is some chatter online that Trump supporters should build a so-called “Patriot Moat” around Mar-a-Lago to keep him safe.

That date came and went without an arrest, making the moat unnecessary.

But this week, after the grand jury’s indictment was confirmed, the moat consisted of a few supporters.

In such small numbers, they hardly pose an obstacle that could prevent law enforcement from going after Mr Trump, if they choose.

One of her most ardent supporters calls herself MAGA Mary and she’s on the bridge outside Mar-a-Lago to show her support.

This Trump supporter, who calls herself MAGA Mary, said she was devastated by his indictment. (ABC News: Dickon Mager)

“I’m broken-hearted that my president, a wonderful man, has to go through this,” she said.

“And our country. What are they doing? It’s not right.”

He promised that the crowd would be large on the day Mr Trump was presented in New York.

“It’s going to be crazy here,” he said.

It is possible that the ranks of supporters will increase both in Florida and in New York.

But given the large police presence established by New York, it is unlikely to interfere with the mechanics of the arrest.

Mr Trump will be forced to go through some of the indignities of being a criminal, such as being fingerprinted and having his picture taken.

But his lawyers say he won’t be “perp walking” in front of the cameras.

Can Trump run for president from prison?

All of this is happening as the Republican primary continues to choose the candidate to challenge Joe Biden for the presidency in 2024.

Whether Donald Trump’s accusation hurts or helps him in the polls remains to be seen, but his accusation does not end his candidacy.

Kevin Wagner, a professor of political science from Florida Atlantic University, said nothing in the US constitution prevents Mr Trump from running for the office of president even from prison.

Professor Kevin Wagner said Mr Trump’s problem did not occur with political candidates. (ABC News: Dickon Mager)

And he won’t be the first either.

“We actually have cases of candidates running while convicted,” he said.

“In the 1920s, we had Eugene Dobbs, who was [a] candidate for the Socialist Party, ran from prison for president, [and he] actually got about 1 million votes … in the 1920s, that’s not a small number,” he said.

But while Mr Trump is not constitutionally barred from campaigning, the practicalities of being involved in a legal case could be problematic for someone trying to become president.

It is important to note that it is not certain that Mr Trump will stand trial in any of the cases in which he is charged.

His lawyers can now challenge the accusation to have it thrown out.

But if it goes to trial, Mr Trump will see that even former presidents must follow the instructions of any judge assigned to the case.

Dr Wagner said the judges set the rules for their trial.

If they believe the defendant before them is going to step out of line, they have many options at their disposal to reinstate him.

The former president recently warned of “death and destruction” to his enemies and posted photos of himself holding a baseball bat next to photos of New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Dr Wagner said a judge could slap a gag order on Mr Trump for similar behavior during a trial if they believed he was inciting violence.

He could still face contempt of court charges.

If he is convicted, DrWagner said MrTrump may not be able to vote for himself in his home state if he is the Republican nominee.

“In Florida, we expressly…prevent felons from voting until they’ve served their term and paid all their fines and fees,” he said.

The many jurisdictions potentially competing for the Trump era

This is the first time a sitting or former US president has been indicted.

But Mr Trump faces a wide range of potential charges in multiple jurisdictions.

Donald Trump was indicted Thursday (local time) after weeks of speculation about a grand jury investigation in New York. (AP:Evan Vucci)

They include a Department of Justice investigation into the removal of government documents from the White House, an investigation into the disturbance on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021, and a case in Georgia looking into his alleged attempt to revoke the results of the 2020 election. there.

The tangle of legal cases in federal and state jurisdictions makes everything complicated.

Typically, jurisdictions will agree on the order in which cases are brought to trial.

But a complicating factor here is that there is a clear timeline in play: the 2024 presidential election.

Federal prosecutors may want to speed up their potential charges against Mr Trump ahead of the New York case, believing theirs are more important and carry higher potential penalties.

Will it help Trump with voters?

For most politicians, especially conservatives, being sued for allegedly ordering hush money to be paid to an adult performer is usually a campaign disaster.

But the traditional laws of politics have never applied to Mr Trump.

Rumors of an indictment and then confirmation of an imminent arrest again ensured extensive media coverage for the candidate.

A small group of Trump voters stood outside Mar-a-Lago to show him their support. (ABC News: Dickon Mager)

Mr Trump has been able to use the accusation as a rallying cry for fundraising among his base.

It also worked as a wedge for many of the competitors running against him in the Republican primary.

Dr Wagner said this creates a difficult equation for declared candidates such as former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and undeclared but high polling candidate, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

“They don’t want to alienate those voters by going after the former president,” he said.

Outside Mar-a-Lago, MAGA Mary said she had turned on Mr DeSantis because of what she perceived as his disloyalty to Mr Trump.

“I supported him, I voted for him [for governor]. First time and second time. And then he betrayed our president, [so] that’s all,” he said.

Standing next to MAGA Mary, Christopher Xenos said that talking about other potential candidates for the Republican nomination among Trump supporters was a “really touching situation”.

Christopher Xenos said he believes other Republicans vying for the 2024 nomination stole from Trump.(ABC News: Dickon Mager)

“You bet it all on him against these people. And they steal from him again. We’re done,” he said.

For now, at least, all eyes are on the golf club in Florida.

One thing we do know for sure is that Mr Trump will soon leave his luxurious surroundings for a seedy Manhattan courthouse, where he will stand before a judge.

Whether that helps or hinders his efforts to return to the White House is anyone’s guess.

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