George Conway predicts multiple Donald Trump indictments: The longtime conservative lawyer and commentator, in a CNN interview, predicted that the former president will face criminal charges in multiple jurisdictions.
Donald Trump Has Issues
Former President Donald Trump, even as he runs for president again, is facing potential criminal charges in four different cases, including the Special Counsel probes into his document practices and his part in January 6, as well as separate investigations in New York and Georgia.
Prosecutors in the New York case have reportedly signaled to Trump that criminal charges are likely, in the case involving alleged payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump this week declined the chance to testify before a grand jury in the Manhattan case.
Appearing on CNN this weekend, veteran Republican lawyer George Conway said that he believes that Trump will in fact be indicted and that he puts the “over-under” at three indictments. He also said that he doesn’t believe any indictment would prevent Trump from continuing to run for president.
“He could be incarcerated, and he could still run for president,” Conway said.
“I think he’s going to make a big issue out of his legal troubles… he’s going to say ‘they’re persecuting me because they want to persecute you.’” He also predicted that “if violence erupts” as a result of an indictment, he will blame prosecutors for that violence.
Conway predicted that the three indictments will come from the Manhattan and Georgia probes, as well as the Mar-a-Lago documents, and “possibly January 6.” There could be more than three counts, but Conway sees Trump being charged in all three cases.
The lawyer was also asked about the E. Jean Carroll case, in which a woman is suing Trump claiming he raped her in the mid-1990s. That case is a civil and not a criminal case, but Conway added that “he’s got a big problem there, too.”
George Conway in a longtime Republican lawyer who rose to prominence during the Trump presidency, when he and his wife, Kellyanne Conway, ended up on opposite sides of the GOP’s Trump divide.
Kellyanne worked in the White House for the majority of Trump’s turn, while George was one of the people behind the anti-Trump organization The Lincoln Project. The couple announced earlier this month that they are finalizing their divorce.
Conway, of course, is far from a dispassionate observer; he has become something of a professional opponent of Donald Trump, so what he says about the former president should be viewed in that context. However, he is a lawyer who has spent much of his career in New York, so it’s very possible he has some insight to provide in that context.
Also this week, on MSNBC’s website, Zeeshan Aleem wrote that a Donald Trump indictment is almost certain not to knock Trump out of the 2024 race.
“This is the kind of news that thrills many Americans who are eager to see Trump face any kind of legal consequences for his many abuses of power and seemingly illicit behavior in office. But they shouldn’t get too excited,” Alex wrote.
“Neither an indictment nor a conviction would necessarily kick Trump out of the race. And there’s little reason to think that if he were to be charged and convicted, he would pay a substantial penalty among Republicans as he seeks his third presidential nomination.” Trump has said himself that an indictment would not keep him from running.
While an indictment would likely drive some support to Trump among Republicans, it would also become a dominant topic in a Republican primary contest, with rivals bringing it up in debates or in campaign commercials. There’s no telling how a criminal case involving payments to a porn star would play with conservative Christian voters.
And that’s to say nothing of the logistical hurdles that would come with a presidential candidate trying to run for president while also standing trial, possibly in multiple jurisdictions.
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Expertise and Experience:
Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.
