14 November 2020

The Loser

The results for the final two states in last week's election were called yesterday: President-elect Joe Biden won Georgia and Donald Trump won North Carolina. The final electoral count is 306 for Biden and 232 for his opponent.

Trump's attempts to overturn the votes in several states met with more failures in court yesterday as some suits were dismissed while in others his lawyers admitted they had no evidence of fraud. Trump also appears to have abandoned his suits in Arizona and Nevada.

At this point, he would need to overturn the results in at least three or more contested states to give him the electoral majority, which is almost an impossibility. He would be more likely to win the Powerball lottery three times in a row.

He still has not conceded, but that does not matter. He will not be President after January 20. Thereafter, he faces a bleak legal future with personal bankruptcy, business bankruptcy, extensive civil litigation, and multiple criminal prosecution all distinct possibilities.

Jane Mayer at The New Yorker published an excellent piece in their November 9, 2020, issue (link here) about Trump's many legal perils. Some of these he could not have avoided even if he had been reelected, while others, like criminal prosecution, are much more likely than while he was in office. I highly recommend the article.

No one will be surprised if Trump pardons his friends and family members before he leaves office. He may even try to pardon himself, although most legal experts don't think that would be binding.

Presidential pardons only prevent federal criminal prosecutions, however. Trump faces the possibility of state criminal prosecutions in New York, and no President can pardon those.

Will Trump be the first American President to spend his retirement in prison? Time will tell.



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