Trump facing ‘long’ prison sentence – attorney — RT World News
The trial of the former US president over secret documents is scheduled to begin on May 20
Former US President Donald Trump may be sent to prison “For a long time” A lawyer linked to the US Democrats has warned that when a ruling is issued in his upcoming trial on charges of mishandling sensitive government documents.
Last June, Trump was charged with 37 criminal counts amid allegations that he illegally kept highly sensitive national security information at his South Florida residence. These included top-secret details about Washington's nuclear capabilities and strategies in the event of an attack on the United States or its allies.
Prosecutors, led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, allege that Trump refused requests from federal officials to return the documents — some of which were stored in publicly accessible locations at Mar-a-Lago, including in an unsecured bathroom. Trump has denied all allegations of wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
“People forget how damaging the evidence was in that Florida case.” Marc Elias, who represented the Democratic National Committee (DNC) between 2009 and 2023, said on MSNBC's The Weekend on Sunday.
“It's literally about a former president of the United States stealing sensitive, top-secret documents from the United States government, treating them condescendingly, showing them to people, and hoarding them willy-nilly.”
Elias said the evidence, when presented at trial in more than three months, could be so “Devastating for him politically,” he said, adding that it “puts him at the real possibility of going to prison for a long time.”
This is the first time that a former US president has faced criminal charges from a federal government that he previously headed. Trump received another federal indictment in August 2023 over his alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 US presidential election.
He also faces separate charges related to allegations of falsifying business records in New York, and conspiring to undermine election results in the US state of Georgia.
Trump is the front-runner to claim the Republican nomination to challenge potential Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the November elections. In a live poll published by NBC News on Sunday, Trump beat Biden by five points, 47% to 42%.
However, the same poll found that if Trump were convicted of a crime, Biden would lead 45%-43%.
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