Should Donald Trump be convicted in Judge Tanya Chutkan's courtroom on Jan. 6-linked charges, he could face decades of living conditions quite different from those at his Mar-a-Lago resort, a new report shows.
Intelligencer's Ankush Khardori discussed Trump's federal election interference case, and what a potential guilty ruling would mean, with sentencing experts, former prison officials and an ex-Secret Service agent who painted a grim portrait of jail time spent working for 40 cents an hour and being protected from being "punched in the face."
When it comes to how much time the embattled president can expect if found guilty, Mark Allenbaugh, who served as a lawyer for the U.S. Sentencing Commission, offered up an "aggressive" sentencing for Trump coming in "north of 20 years based on the violence and physical injuries that resulted from the siege of the Capitol," using current sentences already being handed out to Jan. 6 rioters.
Khardori suggested that, when it comes to sentencing, Chutkan, "may also have been the worst possible draw for Trump among all of the judges in Washington."
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With legal experts suggesting the former president's landing place would likely be minimum security FPC Pensacola — just under 9 hours away from Mar-a-Lago — former career Bureau of Prisons official Hugh Hurwitz detailed conditions Trump would face.
Trump would be issued standard prison wear of "an olive shirt that must be tucked in at all times, olive pants, white socks, and black shoes," Hurwitz explained.
"Everybody that’s in federal prison is expected to have a job if they’re physically and mentally able to do," he said. "Maybe they’re working maintenance on the grounds — you know, cutting grass — maybe they’re working in the kitchen, doing dishes or serving food; maybe if they have some skill in plumbing, they can help out in there.”
The report's author noted the prison Trump would likely enter lacks a key staple of his diet.
"In recent years, the commissary at FPC Pensacola has not carried Diet Coke, but another Trump favorite — ketchup — can be purchased for $2.55," Khardori writes.
"A wide variety of other items are available — including candy, stamps, over-the-counter medicines, and packaged food — but inmates are limited to spending just $360 a month."
As for the former leader of the free world's security, former Secret Service agent Jeff James admitted that agency had no protocols for such a situation during his tenure, but security would be provided.
“The folks in prison are a cross-section of society, so you’re going to have people that even in prison are going to love him and people who are going to hate him,” he explained.
“Just because they’re confined doesn’t mean we could cut him loose, because maybe somebody doesn’t want to kill him — maybe they just want to punch him in the face.”
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