‘We don’t accept plea deals’: Trump rejects idea as Georgia election interference case prepares to go to grand jury next week
- Trump rejected the idea of a plea deal to avoid jail time
- ‘We did nothing wrong. We never take a plea deal,’ he said
- The comment comes as the Georgia case goes to the grand jury next week
Donald Trump said on Saturday he would “never accept a plea deal” as Georgia prosecutors prepare to appear before a grand jury early next week in their investigation into election interference by the former president and his allies.
‘We did nothing wrong. We never accept a plea deal. We do not accept plea agreements. It’s a wise question,’ Trump told reporters on the Des Moines airport tarmac after his visit to the Iowa State Fair.
“We don’t take plea deals because we haven’t done anything wrong. This is called election interference,” he said.
A plea deal could prevent the former president from facing jail time if he is found guilty in any of the three indictments he faces.
Donald Trump has said he will not take any plea deals in any of his court cases
Trump faces a long list of legal issues, including 40 federal charges in Florida, the Stormy Daniels secrecy case in Manhattan and the federal indictment related to the Jan. 6 uprising on Capitol Hill.
And he could face more charges next week, this time in Georgia.
Two witnesses in the case, former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and freelance journalist George Chidi, revealed on Saturday that they were told to appear before a Fulton County grand jury on Tuesday to testify about efforts by Trump and its allies to overturn the 2020 election results. in this state.
It indicates Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is moving forward with a grand jury presentation where she is expected to file charges against more than a dozen people as part of her investigation into efforts to cancel the 2020 elections.
His investigation focused on efforts to pressure state election officials, the conspiracy to propose bogus voters, and a violation of voting systems in rural Coffee County, Georgia.
It began shortly after Trump phoned the state’s top election official, Republican Brad Raffensperger, and urged him to “find” enough votes to change the result. Trump called it “the perfect phone call” and said he was doing nothing wrong.
If Trump is indicted in Georgia, it would follow his federal indictment earlier this month related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Unlike federal convictions, however, if re-elected president, Trump could not attempt to forgive himself if convicted of state crimes in Georgia. He could also face a state trial if he is in the Oval Office. Traditionally, the Justice Department does not prosecute presidents, but state prosecutors have no such rule.
Pro-Trump protesters rally against the US presidential election results outside the Georgia State Capitol on November 18, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia
If Trump is indicted in Georgia, he will have to travel to Atlanta immediately to be booked and arraigned.
Numerous security measures are in place at the downtown courthouse.
In a post Saturday on his Truth Social site, Trump again called the Georgia investigation a “witch hunt.”
He has called all investigations against him a political prosecution as he makes a new bid for the White House.
Additionally, Trump has been spending money at a hefty pace on his legal defense.
In the first half of 2023, his political action committee received $67 million in donations but spent more than $90 million, including $27 million on Trump’s legal fees, averaging 30 cents on every dollar raised.
That’s a shortfall of $23 million, with the ex-president potentially forced to dip into his own pockets after being charged again just weeks ago.
