Maybe I'm wrong, but even if he loses the election in November, even if he's convicted in one or more of his criminal trials, it ain't happening.
Unlike ordinary people who can't afford bail, who can't afford to pay lawyers' fees for months and years on end, Trump has the means to drag these proceedings on and on and on. How many delaying tactics can he and his attorneys throw against the wall, hoping something will stick? He's trying to get at least one trial thrown out because he claims presidents are have absolute immunity; another because the chief prosecutor hired an old boyfriend. Even if he's convicted he'll appeal. If he loses his appeals he'll take it all the way to the Supreme Court. Look at the situation: we're six months away from the general election and only one of the criminal trials has started, and that one, based on what I read from the legal experts, is pretty weak.
Trump and his cultish supporters want you to believe that it is a politically motivated "witch hunt". That it's "election interference". That President Biden is directing all the prosecutions. On one hand Losin Don claims that "they" are attempting to "rig" the election, on the other he is bragging that every indictment helps him in the polls. So why is he being charged with all these crimes? (not to mention the civil suits)
The simplistic answer is that he's a criminal. He acted criminally with impunity his whole life and his time as president did nothing to make him more law-abiding. He thumbed his nose at the legal system and virtually dared it to do something about it. I think that the various prosecutors said "Fuck this guy, I'm tired of his shit" and decided that he'd gotten away with too much for too long and something had to be done about it. Did politics enter into it? Insomuch that Republican prosecutors probably wouldn't have sought indictments, it was, but the motivation of the prosecutors is irrelevant if there was probable cause to indict.
Grand juries are different than petit, or trial, juries. The purpose is not to decide guilt or innocence, but to determine whether there is sufficient cause for a trial. In Nebraska, the prosecutor has no role in grand jury selection and I assume the same is true in other jurisdictions. But if the prosecutor is seeking an indictment, they have to convince 12 out of 16 grand jurors that there is sufficient cause to proceed with a trial. They have done so. Multiple times. It's obvious that there is at least enough evidence to suggest that criminal activity probably happened and that a trial is needed to determine if there is enough to convict. It remains to be seen whether or not there will be convictions, but prosecutors rarely seek indictments if they don't think they can secure a conviction. There's no upside to a loss in a high profile trial.
The Trumpists cry that if someone like their hero can be dragged into court, then it can happen to any of us. As if ordinary citizens aren't already subject to prosecution for crimes that they are alleged to have committed. As if they and their hero haven't been advocating for the last eight years to "lock up" and even execute their political opponents.
The horrifying part of it all is that even if Losin' Don was incarcerated, it would not prevent him from being elected president.
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