'Sentences can get awfully steep' if Trump becomes 'a multi-times convicted felon': former prosecutor

Brandon Gage
August 25, 2023 | 12:45PM ETBank

Former United States attorney for the Northern District of Alabama and MSNBC political analyst Joyce Vance told host Andrea Mitchell on Friday that ex-President Donald Trump's "likely" first potential conviction will lead to harsher sentences if he is found guilty of the dozens of criminal charges that were filed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

AlterNet noted on Wednesday that the prosecutors allege that Trump:

  • Breached campaign finance laws by "falsifying business records" to pay hush money to women with whom he had affairs;
  • Illegally absconded with, retained, and disseminated top-secret White House documents in violation of the Espionage Act;
  • Obstructed justice by refusing to return the materials to the National Archives;
  • Deprived American citizens of their constitutional rights by executing a failed coup to remain in power after President Joe Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 election;
  • Ran a racketeering conspiracy to steal Georgia's sixteen Electoral College votes.


    • "Joyce, we now have all ninety-one felony accounts set. The legal process is playing out. So which of these cases do you think that Donald Trump is most concerned about over the course of this next year?" Mitchell asked. "We should point out also that Alvin Bragg in New York has said he'll defer to the feds and to the others that are, you know, arguably a lot more important than the case in New York City."

    POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again?

    Vance replied, "They're all serious cases, but what Trump should be most concerned about is the cumulative effect of these cases. Because if he's convicted in the first case, then he'll be sentenced to someone with no prior criminal history. But that second conviction carries with it the burden of the prior conviction, and it enhances and elevates his sentence, whether he's in the state or the federal system. You know, that's a little bit, I think getting out over our skis to assume that there will be convictions. It seems likely to me though, that he will be convicted of some of this conduct. And at the end of the day, this looks a lot different than it does walking into it, because when you're a multi-times convicted felon, those sentences can get awfully steep."

    Watch the clip below or at this link.

    MSNBC 08 25 2023 12 07 53www.youtube.com

    READ MORE: Poll: Americans say DOJ was right to indict, Trump is guilty and should go to prison if convicted

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