A Trump plea deal would require admitting guilt in court or risk '20 years in custody': former prosecutor

Reacting to reports that Donald Trump's lawyers met with Justice Department officials in an effort to either get charges against their client dropped or hammer out a plea deal, former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance suggested the former president may be forced to do something he is loath to do if he wants to stay out of jail.

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Trump's attorneys showed up to make a pitch to investigators not to indict their client and that a plea deal may have been discussed.

The Journal is reporting that "the meeting is the latest indication that special counsel Jack Smith has all but wrapped up his investigation into whether Trump mishandled the documents. In recent months, Smith’s team has homed in on several key pieces of evidence, including an audio recording in which Trump acknowledged he kept a classified Pentagon document about a potential attack on Iran, and extensive notes from one of his lawyers about the investigation."

According to Vance, the embattled former president may find himself between a rock and a hard place if his attorneys work out a possible deal.

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On Twitter she wrote, "The smart move here for Trump is a guilty plea to a misdemeanor if DOJ will offer one & a felony with no jail time if they won't. I discuss prior precedent & how it informs DOJ's charging decisions here."

"For those who dislike these possible outcomes (I would number myself in that group), it's nonetheless important to understand the prior precedent that will shape DOJ's charging decisions & any plea offers in this matter. This is Trump's best possible outcome, not the country's," she admitted before adding, "... simply put, unlike the CIA Directors who escaped with misdemeanor pleas & no jail time, Trump's conduct as POTUS, flagrant disregard for nat'l security & clear obstruction mandates a different outcome here."

As for what the already indicted ex-president would face, she predicted, "Trump seems incapable of saying he's done anything wrong. To plead, he'd have to say under oath in open court that he was guilty. It'll be interesting to see if he can do that, or would rather run the risk of being convicted of felonies that carry up to 20 years in custody."