WASHINGTON – Former president Donald Trump could face five years in prison if convicted on the federal charges accusing him of allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election, former federal prosecutor Ronald Sievert told Sputnik yesterday.
On Tuesday, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Trump with four criminal counts in connection to special counsel Jack Smith’s probe into his alleged role in trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
“The judge is a D(emocrat) appointed judge. She would give him about five years. I just don’t think the case would stand up on appeal,” Sievert said.
He said Trump was indicted for exercising his constitutional rights to protest and challenge an election.
“The indictment even suggests he knew he lost and knowingly lied. Everything I have seen strongly supports the view that he was convinced he won and that in his mind, there was massive voter fraud.
“And he had every right to pursue every legal theory – right or wrong – to challenge the vote counts sent in by the states.”
Sievert pointed out that it is very questionable from a legal standpoint that Trump would be indicted for aggressively arguing his case and called it a “basic First Amendment violation”.
Trump faces one count of conspiracy to defraud the US, one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, one count of obstruction of an attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and one count of conspiracy against rights.
“Despite having lost, the defendant was determined to remain in power. So, for more than two months following election day on November 3, 2020, the defendant spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that he had actually won.
“These claims were false, and the defendant knew that they were false,” the indictment said.
Trump is expected to appear in person at the US District Court of Columbia at 4pm local time to hear the four criminal charges against him and to enter his plea.
He will appear before a magistrate judge prior to the case being handed over to US federal judge Tanya Chuktan, who was appointed by Democratic ex-president Barack Obama, as she is assigned to oversee Trump’s case.
Chutkan is the only federal judge in Washington to issue sentences to Americans convicted for participating in the events at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 that were longer than what prosecutors had requested, according to media reports.
Chutkan has reportedly sentenced at least 38 individuals despite the fact prosecutors did not seek prison time for most of them.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing, arguing that the newly unveiled indictment against him is the latest attempt by what he called “the Biden crime family” and “the weaponised US Justice Department” to interfere in the 2024 US presidential election. – Bernama-Sputnik, August 3, 2023
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