OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A new survey exclusively conducted on behalf of a local media outlet has found that more than half of voters surveyed in Georgia don’t think former President Donald Trump should accept a plea bargain from District Attorney Fani Willis.
11Alive in Atlanta reported that, according to its exclusive survey, 55 percent of those asked would rather see Trump stand trial, while 21 percent said he should take a deal and 24 percent were not sure or voiced no opinion.
“I would rather him do a plea agreement,” said a Republican-leaning voter in Cobb County who only identified as Eros, told the outlet.
“He wants to prove everyone wrong and become president again. So I don’t think his pride would allow him to plead guilty,” Beth Carter, a Democrat-leaning voter in Midtown, told 11Alive.
Richard Holloway, a Republican from Lithia Springs, told the outlet he welcomes a trial for Trump because he believes it will exonerate him.
“I’m for Trump. Go Trump. ‘Know what I mean?’ Good luck” trying to convict him, Holloway said.
“It would depend on the details of the plea,” said Leelt Ermias of Atlanta, who added she is no fan of the 45th president.
Prosecutors possess the authority to negotiate plea deals that extend beyond standard probation or sentencing conditions. The agreements might involve the defendant agreeing to undergo counseling or being barred from a particular jurisdiction, 11Alive added.
“Imposing a requirement that the person never run for public office again could be a condition that could be part of a negotiated plea,” Clint Rucker, a longtime Fulton County prosecutor who is now in private practice, told the outlet. That said, he added he would “not bet one penny” that Trump will accept a plea deal, like many voters the outlet spoke with, because it would take him out of the 2024 election.
Earlier this month, Trump himself dismissed the notion of taking a plea bargain in any of the four cases now filed against him.
During a brief press conference before leaving his Bedminster, N.J., golf club, heading to Iowa, Trump responded to a reporter’s question about taking a deal.
“Is there any chance you take a plea deal in Georgia?” he was asked.
Trump responded:
We did nothing wrong. We don’t ever take a plea deal. We don’t take plea deals. It’s a wise guy question. You’re just a wise guy. We don’t take plea deals because I did nothing wrong. It’s called election interference. You know what that is?
Because these indictments are going out by Biden. Who can’t even put two sentences together. This is Joe Biden. Because he can’t win the election by himself. He can’t win the election based on votes. So what they did is they got the attorney general to do it. And then you see how stupid they acted yesterday with the appointment of the special counsel. They call it special counsel. And what a crazy thing that was. And it’s being laughed at all over the world.
The fact is that we have a country that’s in serious trouble. We have a country that’s in major decline. I don’t mean decline, I mean major decline. And we’re going to straighten it out. This group and a lot of people just like this group. We’re going to straighten it out and we’re going to make America great again.
Wise guy.
An attorney and spokesperson for Trump said he remains unconcerned about the growing number of indictments against him, even as most of them have been filed in jurisdictions that lean heavily Democratic.
In all, charges filed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, and charges in two separate cases filed by special counsel Jack Smith amount to several hundred years behind bars. But, Alina Habba told “Fox News Sunday” anchor Shannon Bream that the former president remains optimistic.
“If it was a normal person, honestly, Shannon, I could understand the concern. President Trump is not your average person. He’s incredibly intelligent, and he knows the ropes. He also knows the facts because he lived them,” Habba said.
