Report: Donald Trump Passes a Plan to Avoid Criminal Charges, and Now He Faces Up to 400 Years in Prison

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As you’ve probably heard, Donald Trump is currently in the eye of a legal shitstorm. Less than three months after he was indicted by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, on Tuesday, he was indicted on federal charges stemming from his handling of highly classified documents, which included knowingly withholding national defense information. and conspiracy to obstruct justice. These are extremely serious crimes to which the former president has pleaded not guilty, as he did in the New York case and, if convicted on all counts, Trump could legitimately be looking at spending the rest of his life in prison. his life, a hope that most people want to avoid. And yet, given the opportunity to not just be locked up at the table and avoid a charge the ex-boyfriend seems to have said, thanks but no thanks.

The Washington Post reported that in the fall of 2022, months before Trump was criminally indicted, one of his new lawyers, Christopher Kise, proposed the idea of ​​quietly approaching the Department of Justice to see if he could he can negotiate a plea deal that would bar the charges, Attorney General Merrick Garland and the department hope want an exit ramp to avoid prosecuting a former president. Kise, according to people he spoke to, believes there is an opportunity to turn the temperature down by promising to return all the documents requested by the government, and to take a professional, decidedly un-Trump approach to the whole situation. (Again, given the choice of being indicted and risking jail time, or not being indicted and not risking jail time, most people would go with the latter!) But Trump, according to the Post, wasn’t interested after listening to others lawyers who urged a more pugilistic approach, so Kise never approached prosecutors, according to three people familiar with the matter. Shortly thereafter, Garland appointed Special Counsel Jack Smith to take over the investigation.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the former president told the Post: President Trump continues to be in full compliance with the Presidential Records Act, which is the only law that applies to Presidents and their records. In the course of negotiations to return the documents, President Trump told the top DOJ official, anything you need from us, just let us know. Sadly, the armed DOJ rejected this offer of cooperation and conducted an unnecessary and unconstitutional raid on the Presidents home to inflict the greatest political damage on the leading presidential candidate.

Of course, Trumps reported rejection of Kises proposal isn’t the only time in the documents saga that the ex-husband passed up an opportunity to save himself due to some combination of ego and stupidity.

Since the National Archives first requested the return of presidential documents in Trump’s possession in February 2021 and until a grand jury issued its indictment this month, Trump has repeatedly balked and avoided opportunities to avoid criminal charges, according to people with knowledge of the case, many of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal internal details. They note that Trump will not be charged for any documents he voluntarily turns over.

Interviews with seven Trump advisers with knowledge of the investigation indicate that he misled his own advisers, telling them the boxes contained only newspaper clippings and clothing. He has repeatedly refused to return the documents, even though some of his longest-serving advisers have warned of the danger and some have flown to Mar-a-Lago to beg him to return them.

It was a completely unforced error, a person close to the former president told the Post. We shouldn’t be here. Trump’s second chief of staff, John Kelly, told the outlet that he was not surprised that the ex-husband refused to return the documents despite the fact that it could get the government off his back. He can’t admit his mistake. He wanted to hide it, and he said, You’re not going to tell me what to do. I’m the smartest person in the room, Kelly said.

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