A large portion of people in the United States of America have long been waiting on bated breath to learn whether or not ex-President Donald J. Trump will finally be brought to justice for his multitude of crimes and find himself behind prison bars — where so many of us believe he has belonged for literal decades now.
However, as the onslaught of cases and charges against the former president has continued to drag on into oblivion, it’s hard to believe that the man will ever see true accountability to the law.
Even Judge Juan Merchan — who is presiding over Trump’s infamous Manhattan Hush Money case and has certainly made it evident that he’s no fan of the former president — has openly expressed his reluctance to throw the 45th President of the United States in prison.
From the very day that Donald Trump was arraigned on his Hush Money charges on April 4th of last year, Justice Merchan has made it clear that he is highly loathe to incarcerate a presidential candidate who is mid-campaign.
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“He is a candidate for the presidency of the United States. So, those First Amendment rights are critically important, obviously,” the judge said on the day of Donald’s arraignment.
On May 6th, Merchan expanded on this opinion, noting that multiple people would be heavily burned by such a decision.
Calling incarceration “truly a last resort for me,” Merchan said, “I also worry about the people who would have to execute that sanction: the court officers, the correction officers, the Secret Service detail, among others.”
However, he made it very clear to Donald Trump that jail time is not off the table in this case.
“I want you to understand that I will,” Judge Merchan informed the former US president, “if necessary and appropriate.”
While it’s clear at this point that jail time is, frankly, a long shot, it seems that the notion of Donald Trump sitting behind prison bars is valid enough that the Secret Service has been forced to begin to prepare for the possibility of it.
CBS News broke reporting today, confirming that the Secret Service and officials in state and federal agencies have begun to meet, in an effort to get prepared for the big what-if:
It’s a possibility that officials in state and federal agencies have begun preparing for, according to a New York corrections source, who said the Secret Service has met with local jail officials. As a former president, Trump is entitled to Secret Service protection for the rest of his life, wherever he happens to be. Behind bars, corrections officers would in turn be responsible for protecting those agents assigned to Trump,” CBS reports.
Former Manhattan prosecutor Duncan Levin said that it is absolutely crucial for officials to have a plan firmly in place, just in case.
“He could be remanded on the spot,” he told CBS.
You can find the full CBS News report here.
Featured image via screen capture
