While Donald Trump’s attorneys are talking about filing motions to dismiss, and about surrendering for arraignment, Trump’s fans are making proposals that involve refusing to turn himself in, visiting further attacks on the legal system, and becoming the nation’s first Prison President.
If he’s wise (uh-oh) he’ll stick to taking legal advice from his lawyers, rather than from his supporters in media, Congress, and his social circle.
Jenna Ellis is an attorney, but she’s not one of Trump’s team, and that may be for very good reasons.
She’s boosting at least one very bad plan — the suggestion that Trump should not turn himself in, as his attorneys have said he will do, but should instead “refuse to leave Mar-a-Lago.”
That’s not only unlikely to end well in court, but would also stall out his political campaign, putting a halt to rallies across the nation.
Then there’s Mike Davis, a former law clerk for Neil Gorsuch, who seems to be certain Trump will retake the presidency.
Upon doing so, he proposes choosing an Attorney General (such as himself) who will go after Trump’s perceived political enemies, including but not limited to the Clintons, Obamas, and Bidens, as well as the Justice Department and prosecutors across the nation.
The most ridiculous and bizarre take, though, comes from Roger Stone and Fox News anchor Grant Stinchfield.
In a conversation following Trump’s indictment, the two agreed that there would be no problem with Trump being convicted, since he can simply run from prison, then pardon himself after being sworn in as President of the United States.
(A president cannot pardon state charges, and Trump’s current charges are through the state of New York; additional indictments could hit from the investigation in Georgia as well as at the Federal level. A self-pardon has also never been tested, though Trump insisted while he was in office that it’s an available option.)
Watch below as the two shift quickly from Stone’s admission that Trump could (if re-elected) only pardon Federal charges to asserting with certainty that he’ll be able to free himself easily.
Grant Stinchfield: "There's certainly nothing barring [Trump] from running, winning and even serving as president, albeit momentarily, if he was behind bars because he could pardon himself" pic.twitter.com/6Bq7KXWr8n
— Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) March 31, 2023
Jenna Ellis retweets a suggestion from an editor of Chronicles, a magazine published by the right-wing Charlemagne Institute.
Dear President Trump:
Please make me your (Acting) Attorney General.
(Senate confirmation isn’t in the cards.)
I’ll immediately clean house at the Justice Department—especially the FBI.
Including cutting off grants to Soros-funded prosecutors.
And ensure any and all…
— 🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸 (@mrddmia) March 31, 2023