In contrast to the special counsel Jack Smith’s latest laser-focused federal indictment of Mr. Trump, Ms. Willis charges a wide range of conspirators, from people in the Oval Office to low-level Georgia G.O.P. functionaries, and is the first to plumb the full depths, through a state-focused bathyscaph, of the conspiracy.
Her case also provides other important complements to the federal matter: Unlike Mr. Smith’s case, which will almost certainly not be broadcast because of federal standards, hers will almost certainly be televised, and should Mr. Trump or another Republican win the White House, Ms. Willis’s case cannot be immediately pardoned away. It offers transparency and accountability insurance.
Don’t know if the article picked this up, but in Georgia a pardon board, not the governor, makes the pardon determination and, I am told, requires that a portion of the criminal sentence be served before a pardon is considered. This is a tough case to prosecute, and these are uncharted waters, but it raises the specter of a candidate running for president from behind bars.
A pardon can’t even be considered until 5 years after any criminal sentence is completed. The talk of changing the Georgia Constitution to allow the governor to pardon Trump would required Democratic support and is not going to happen.
Don’t know if the article picked this up, but in Georgia a pardon board, not the governor, makes the pardon determination and, I am told, requires that a portion of the criminal sentence be served before a pardon is considered. This is a tough case to prosecute, and these are uncharted waters, but it raises the specter of a candidate running for president from behind bars.
That is specifically mentioned in the article as well as delineation of state versus federal crimes in regard to presidential pardons.
A pardon can’t even be considered until 5 years after any criminal sentence is completed. The talk of changing the Georgia Constitution to allow the governor to pardon Trump would required Democratic support and is not going to happen.