OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former President Donald Trump sent a fateful warning to Democrats and the Biden administration during an interview this week over the prospect of facing prison time if he is found guilty of any number of felonies he currently faces on the state and federal levels.
During an interview on The Simon Conway Show, the host asked Trump about the prospect of being put in prison and how he thought his supporters would react.
“Is it something that concerns you of the people making sure that they don’t go out of their right mind if something like that happens, if that, for example, they do say — Jack Smith says, OK, I’m going to put Donald Trump in jail?’ the host asked.
“I think it’s a very dangerous thing to even talk about because we do have a tremendously passionate group of voters, much more passion than they had in 2020 and much more passion than they had in 2016,” he said, adding, “I think it would be very dangerous.”
“They’re trying to cheat on an election by doing this,” Trump added. “It’s election interference.”
Earlier in the week, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to take verbal potshots at special counsel Smith, even as the special counsel appointed to investigate President Joe Biden’s possession of classified documents — which he was not authorized to have as a vice president or senator — has been silent.
“The Democrat prosecutors waited years to bring charges so that they could interfere with the 2024 presidential election. They are getting, however, big blowback!” he wrote, adding, “for the first time in the history of the USA, lawyers, and the legal system itself, are under siege…all a gift from crooked Joe Biden, Merrick Garland, and deranged prosecutor, Jack Smith!”
A federal judge ruled on Friday that Trump will stand trial on May 20, 2024, on charges that he mishandled classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
“U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon appeared to split the difference between prosecutors’ request for a December 2023 trial date and Trump’s request to postpone the trial until after the November 2024 election,” Politico reported.
Fort Pierce will host the first pretrial hearing in the case involving Trump’s classified documents. After the nearly two-hour hearing in federal court in Fort Pierce, Florida, where attorneys for Trump pushed for an indefinite delay of a trial date, Judge Cannon said she would issue a written order “promptly.”
Trump’s attorneys argued they needed more time to prepare for what they characterize as a challenging case involving a substantial body of evidence. They contend that the former president won’t be given a fair trial before the 2024 election, where he is overwhelmingly the GOP frontrunner.
Federal prosecutors have proposed that the trial should begin in December, saying the case is not complex and there’s no need for a lengthy delay. Prosecutor David Harbach told the judge that Trump’s legal team has repeatedly suggested he should be treated differently because he’s running for president,” Market Watch reported.
“The Department of Justice urged Cannon not to sign off on the Trump team’s desired delay. It was the first time arguments were held in front of Cannon in the unprecedented federal prosecution of the former president, who is also facing charges in a separate case in New York. Cannon has been under increased scrutiny since a court ruling last year that critics said was unduly favorable to Trump,” the outlet added.
Todd Blanche, one of Trump’s lawyers, told the judge that he disagreed with the prosecution’s claim that this case should be treated like any other, given Trump is the leading candidate looking to run against President Joe Biden.
As such, Trump’s team argued before Cannon that the trial should wait until after the November 2024 election.
