General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhy Trump will probably never be convicted of anything.
Even if Biden wins in November, there are two reasons it'll be almost impossible to get a conviction for any crimes he's committed, before or during his time in office.
1. There's no way an impartial jury could be empaneled. A majority of Americans think he's a useless crook. A sizable minority think he can do no wrong. I don't think it's possible to find 12 people in this country who could honestly claim to be neutral or impartial on anything he's done.
2. His health. In particular, there's clear evidence of a mental decline in recent years. Has he had mini-strokes? Is he dealing with dementia? An argument could be made that he's unable to help in his own defense because of his limited faculties.
I very much want to be wrong about both of these. The country, and the world, can't heal from this abomination until there's real accountability. But I'm growing increasingly concerned that the Orange One himself might avoid efforts to make him accountable.
Thoughts? Fears?
Thekaspervote
(32,605 posts)Physical illness
Sickening!!
Miguelito Loveless
(4,438 posts)so, I think your second point is the only germane one. As soon as he is facing serious hard time, he will finally admit to his dementia.
vlyons
(10,252 posts)We can find 12 people, who have enough personal integrity to vote a verdict, based on whether the facts are beyond a reasonable doubt. I could do that. I'll bet other DUers could too.
It's not about our personal opinions of Trump, it's about whether there is enough evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.
LakeVermilion
(1,022 posts)nykym
(3,063 posts)Would be to convict Ivanka and give her a long prison sentence.
Blecht
(3,803 posts)unblock
(51,974 posts)if it even got to a criminal trial, i really doubt he'd use or be able to get away with the incompetent to stand trial defense. he'd blow his cover on twitter in a nanosecond.
but if he somehow were sentenced to prison, then i very, very much would expect him to produce a doctor's note saying prison would amount to a death sentence and he'd have home confinement at worst.
that said, this is all pretty close to pure fantasy. the system is just not capable of holding a president to criminal account like they do for shoplifters.
now, a *civil* trial that results in him having to fork over billions, that's a different story. hard enough, but far more plausible to at least get a trial and a favorable judgment. getting him to pay, though, is still a problem....
Mike 03
(16,616 posts)Trump has done too many things that demonstrate he is aware he is breaking the law and attempting to conceal that fact; therefore, there is ample evidence of consciousness of guilt. Look at all the effort he's gone to to lowball real estate values for tax purposes, and then to exaggerate them to obtain loans, and then to keep those false values straight. The Mueller Report is filled with facts tending to point to his awareness of his own wrongdoing. He also has a pattern of delegating wrongdoing to others, to avoid implicating himself. Hiding, obstructing, blocking people from testifying to his wrongdoing, etc...
It's actually pretty hard nowadays to get a "diminished capacity" defense.
My heart isn't set on Trump going to prison, but I think there's a good chance some of these people will:
Dejoy
Kushner
William Barr
Maybe Eric Trump
FakeNoose
(32,328 posts)Just don't try his case in the Senate.
Under The Radar
(3,401 posts)... than Trump, plus he is still responsible for crimes that occurred before, crimes conducted for him by others with his approval.
If there is enough evidence a judge can dismiss the verdict of a hug jury and rule against him.
Before Bill Barr became AG, Trump was headed for the slammer and impeachment. His personal attorney and his White House council had testified against him and had 18 different federal lawsuits against him. Barr made that all disappear, he holds the keys to justice....for now
People are loyal to him out of fear only. Once out of office where he is no longer a threat, it will be like the hyenas turning on Scar in the Lion King.
cab67
(2,962 posts)...Trump is white and reasonably well off. Those are features typically not evident in mentally ill people who end up on death row.
Under The Radar
(3,401 posts)But the chance of him losing most of what he has is pretty good.
cab67
(2,962 posts)I was addressing one point out of several you made.
marlakay
(11,370 posts)And if possible find a way to take away WH pension. Say it is back payments for all the illegal stuff he bought with our tax dollars.
DonaldsRump
(7,715 posts)to demonstrate what really happened. The combination of Barr-Mueller-Rosenstein-Trump clearly stopped that from having.
Everything else can follow when we know the full reality.
ProudMNDemocrat
(16,473 posts)Why do I say this? Because it is true.
Back in 1964, my Grandfather's 3rd wife was a good woman from Slovenia who adored me. She had a jewelry box filled with jewelry she wanted to leave me upon her death. Rings, bracelets, necklaces that went back over 200 years. Precious and semi precious gems that was worth tens of thousands back then. Anne died in 1965.
A man my Grandfather took in to help him, stole that jewelry box. Rather than file a Police report, my Grandfather trusted God and Karma to do their work. They did. The man lost his 2 sons in Vietnam, his ex-wife died of cancer, and he himself fell ill with cancer as well.
The fate for Donald Trump will not go unnoticed by either. The lying, cheating, the ill treatment of others will eventually do Trump in. This will be a fate worse than death while he is still alive.
cab67
(2,962 posts)if this man's children and wife died, was God punishing him, or his children and wife?
hlthe2b
(101,702 posts)jury can be seated that will fairly evaluate the evidence, no matter their prior attitudes/beliefs.
As to the supposed inability to try him because of diminishing "faculties," I have one name (though more could surely be produced)"
Famous mob boss VINCENT GIGANTE--considered the most powerful Mafia boss in America but perhaps best known for walking through his Greenwich Village neighborhood in a bathrobe and pajamas, was declared mentally competent to stand trial on murder and racketeering charges yesterday by a judge who called his odd behavior an ''elaborate deception.''
https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/29/nyregion/strolls-in-robe-notwithstanding-mob-figure-must-stand-trial.html
Blue Owl
(49,902 posts)Otherwise how has he gotten away with all this shit for his entire life?
agingdem
(7,754 posts)he loses everything in bankruptcy..property, country clubs, houses, art, cars, stocks, bonds..I want it all confiscated and the proceeds donated to black, muslim, and hispanic cultural centers.....I want every restaurant to post a sign..."we reserve the right to refuse service to Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, Stephen Miller and all of Donald Trump's reptilian spawn"...I want him spit on and garbage thrown at him whenever he emerges from whatever sink hole he poops in...and I want to watch him descend into hell and carried off in a strait jacket to his final "resting" place...a hospital for the criminally insane...
Siwsan
(26,175 posts)I have no doubt his legal representation would be going for a world record.
Enoki33
(1,584 posts)that he heads a criminal ring of paid enablers, including family members, willing to sell their country to the highest bidder. There can be healing as long as they are not held accountable too. They cannot all claim mental incapacity.