Former president Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election, appearing in the federal courthouse that sits just blocks away from where his angry supporters stormed the Capitol building in an effort to keep him in power.
“I’ve known Jeff [Epstein] for 15 years. Terrific guy, He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
Of course he did. He'll want a trial which will both stretch out the process towards the election, and give him the chance to put on a show for his throng.
I hope he ends up in a cell to minimize any further damage.
No cameras in fed courtrooms is a blessing and a curse. He can't treat the room like a stage, but he can say anything he wants about what happened in the courtroom because his base won't read.
Trump the candidate and Trump the defendant have different goals.
Trump the candidate will explain this is the deep state Biden admin curtailing his free speech.
Trump the defendant will have to defend himself from charges that aren't related to free speech. So my guess is he'll let them find him guilty (good for Trump the candidate) and hope that all the elections staff quitting means his people will get in and fix it for him.
Sadly, it probably doesn't matter what law is on the books about it. It's a southern red state, and like it or not he is a former president and a white man of influence.