Donald Trump Faces Pre-trial Detention Amid Criminal Indictments Over Lack of Self-Control

During a recent MSNBC appearance, Jill Wine-Banks, a former attorney involved in the Watergate scandal, cautioned Donald Trump that his continued aggressive rhetoric regarding his criminal indictments could potentially lead to his pre-trial incarceration, per Raw Story.

During a segment, where she spoke with host Ayman Mohyeldin about the former president's criticisms of prosecutors, including Fulton County District Attorney, Fani Willis, and special counsel Jack Smith, Wine-Banks expressed the view that imposing financial penalties on Trump might not be effective because he could potentially cover those fines with contributions from his supporters. 

The expert clarified that Trump's actions are creating a difficult situation for judges, potentially forcing them to consider incarcerating the former president, even though it might not be their preferred course of action. As per Wine-Banks, Judge Tanya Chutkan, presiding over Trump's federal trial in Washington D.C., is fully capable of managing the former president's criticisms and challenges.

"I think that she can handle it, but she is in a very difficult position because putting him in custody has to be a last resort. He may push her to that, but he will see it as a political advantage, and so she has to be careful not to give him that advantage. But there is a limit to what she can do to enforce his compliance with what her reasonable requirements for his release are," she explained.

"She can penalize him with a monetary fine but his supporters are paying his legal bills already so it doesn't hurt him and he doesn't care about them and their money," Wine-Banks said. She added, "And so I don't know how much benefit in terms of his compliance it would be to fine him if he doesn't obey the fine. She said she would move to trial date up but she can only move it up so far without denying him due process and the adequate time to prepare, and he knows that and she knows that."

Donald Trump, the first former US President to confront legal indictments, is witnessing a steady escalation in his legal expenses. Interestingly, a significant portion of these legal fees is being covered by his supporters in an effort to safeguard him from legal troubles. According to an old report from The New York Times, amidst the escalating intensity of multiple investigations, Donald J. Trump has quietly begun reallocating a substantial portion of the funds he raises, which were originally intended for his prospective 2024 presidential campaign, to a political action committee.

This committee is now being used to finance his personal legal costs. In November 2022, at the start of his campaign, 99 cents of every online dollar raised went to Trump's campaign, with just one penny going to Save America PAC. However, according to internet archival records cited by The New York Times, Trump adjusted the allocation around February to send 90% of donations to the campaign and 10% to Save America.

"So there's a very limited amount of things that she can do other than incarceration, and I think that that may have to be if he -- you know [political consultant] Stuart Stevens is right: he can't control himself," Wine-Banks elucidated. "And so if he goes way beyond the bounds and is clear in his threats and provoking his supporters to create violence in response to these threats, I think that he will have to be shut up by being incarcerated," she added. Further giving an example of "Eugene Debs who ran for president from jail" she explained, "and so it is possible that he can continue his campaign from jail."