Not debating could keep Donald Trump out of jail: Not participating in the debate has a side benefit for the former president- he won’t have a chance to violate his bail conditions.
Donald Trump Might Be a Man with a Plan
The first Republican presidential debate will take place Wednesday, but former President Donald Trump won’t be there.
The ex-president and Republican frontrunner has declined to participate in the debate, and will instead be interviewed by Tucker Carlson in a prepped interview that will stream on X (formerly Twitter) at the same time as the debate.
According to one new analysis, there’s another good reason for Trump to avoid the debate stage: Legal exposure.
Trump, of course, is under indictment in four different jurisdictions. And the most recent one, the RICO indictment in Georgia, has more stringent bail conditions than the others. If he were to violate them, he could have his bail revoked and land in jail.
That’s according to an analysis in The Guardian that was published Wednesday.
“The move to upstage the debate tackles Trump’s political goals for his 2024 campaign, but it also quietly solves worries that Trump could deepen his legal jeopardy were he to be questioned about his four criminal cases by debate moderators or the other candidates,” Hugo Lowell wrote of the debate.
It’s not a frequent occurrence in American politics for participants in presidential debates to have to worry about how the things they say will affect their bail conditions. And it’s also not a frequent occurrence for criminal defendants to have to debate while contending for the presidency.
“Criminal defendants typically avoid speaking publicly about their cases, because prosecutors could use their statements against them. Trump has developed a pattern of discussing his indictments after getting angered about the framing of questions,” Lowell wrote.
Of course, just because he’s not debating doesn’t mean Trump isn’t going to speak publicly otherwise in the next several months. He’s going to give interviews, including the one with Carlson, although it was recorded before the bail conditions were set. Trump is going to need to continue to give speeches — especially at rallies where he is famous for ranting extemporaneously against his various enemies — and do other things that people who are running for president must do. Those also will apply to social media posts, so Trump will not be allowed to insult the judge, opposing lawyers, or witnesses, something he’s frequently done a great deal of.
Earlier this week, bail conditions were set for Trump, who is set to surrender to authorities in Georgia on Thursday morning. Bail was set at $200,000, and the former president was also given various instructions.
“The defendant shall perform no act to intimidate any person known to him or her to be a codefendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice,” the filing said, under conditions signed by both District Attorney Fani Willis and Trump’s attorneys.
“The above shall include, but are not limited to, posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media,” the order also says, per Axios.
If he violates those roles, Trump faces the possibility of his bail being revoked, which could lead to jail for the former president.
Some of Trump’s 18 codefendants in the case, including attorneys Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, surrendered to authorities on Wednesday, with both attorneys also having mugshots taken. Trump is also expected to have a mugshot taken on Thursday, something he has avoided in all of the other indictments before now.
“I get photographed, isn’t that nice? A mugshot for the mayor who probably put the worst criminal of the 20th century in jail,” Giuliani told reporters, per NBC News. The former mayor and Trump are each charged with 13 counts under Georgia’s RICO statute, the federal version of which Giuliani made groundbreaking use when he was a federal prosecutor in the 1980s.
Author 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. Stephen has authored thousands of articles over the years that focus on politics, technology, and the economy for over a decade. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.
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