I think the chance of Trump fleeing the country went way up today...

[First Speaker]

...I've felt for a long time he would do this in the end. He will never go to jail, and he doesn't have the guts to end his worthless life. He'll run, all right, squealing all the while about the "plot" against him. He'll probably keep running for the GOP nomination, too. And quite likely get it, no matter what the courts do. God, what an unholy mess 2024 could turn out to be...

[meadowlander]

1. Yep.

My endgame prediction has always been defection to Saudi Arabia.

[ecstatic]

8. lol. Maybe dubai, but not SA.

He's ok with taking their money though.

[FarPoint]

14. Mine too....

[carpetbagger]

33. But what does he have to offer to Bonesaw?

Once upon a time he did, but that calculation would be based on a windfall should he be reelected against certain American sanctions, and possibly efforts to overthrow the kingdom or push in a cadet Saud faction.

Were I Trump, I would think my days numbered in Russia.

I suspect he's more helpful as a trophy on a different shelf. The country that has the most to gain and the least to lose by this diplomatic coup is....

China.

[Irish_Dem]

36. Trump kept some classified docs hidden for a reason.

They are his bargaining chip?
To be used as needed to get out of trouble.

[carpetbagger]

55. I don't know how good he is at this espionage thing.

That sounds like it needs better execution, methinks he left his retirement treasure in his WC for Mr. Jack Smith to dig up.

[Irish_Dem]

58. Jared Kushner handled it for him?

Jared knew exactly how much each document was worth.
And would take care of the transaction for Trump.

[carpetbagger]

61. I suspect he's done with it.

Certainly Mrs. Kushner seems to have had her fill of drama with daddy.

[Irish_Dem]

62. We are not talking about now. We are talking about what they did while in the WH.

[carpetbagger]

64. Agree with that, but what's in it for Bonesaw to hide Trump now?

I think Trump can only offer two things... A trophy to mock America, or a magnet for hiring right wing mercenaries. The latter seems out of play as most of those.countries aren't fancy enough for him.

[Irish_Dem]

65. Trump is still a chaos agent, damaging the US, creating conflict and division.

Who benefits?

[Ocelot II]

2. It wouldn't break my heart if he did.

But it would be kind of hard for him to run for president from a dacha on the Black Sea.

[Joinfortmill]

3. To Saudi

[Arazi]

4. He won't flee because he's never going to prison

He knows it. We know it.

At *most* he’ll get home confinement at one of his luxury resorts where he’s secure but confined and can never run for office again.

But I doubt even that happens, and even that outcome will take years to accomplish (and he’ll probably die before it even comes to that)

[edisdead]

22. We who?

I have no idea what will happen.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

49. Where do you get this "we" shit?

I don't know that and neither do you.

[Deuxcents]

5. Hmmm..he's not that courageous but if he was..

My bet would be his buddies, the Saudis. Lots of rich people there and fabulous homes and opulence. Moscow doesn’t have enough bling.

[ecstatic]

6. Will he have to surrender his passport this time??

The man has already taken a foreign trip since his NY indictment. He could have been checking out new home options in Scotland.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

50. I don't think Scotland would be a destination for Benedict to flee to,

Scotland does have an extradition treaty with the US, he would have to flee to a country that has no treaty with the US.

[dem4decades]

7. He'll live the rest of his life in luxury, right here in the USA. I think there'sa

Better chance of him being President than fleeing.

[gab13by13]

9. His only defense is to win the election,

so he isn't fleeing the country.

[onenote]

10. I'd be rich enough to pay Trump's lawyers if I had a dollar for every post predicting he'll flee

Ain't gonna happen.

[Cheezoholic]

20. Me and you both. He'll try to start a full blown war here first and sell Trump guns or something

His grift machine is revving up like never before anyway. It's hard for normal people to understand. Running is what makes sense Normal crooks would run. But he is above that. He truly, absolutely doesn't give a shit ABOUT ANYTHING BUT HIMSELF. He will blow anything, everything and everyone up he can because he knows for an absolute fact he is THE GREATEST THING EVER CREATED IN THE UNIVERSE and all WILL SERVE AND BOW AND DIE for him. His ilk ran humanity until the last few hundred years.

His fat ass will bask in this, its the time his darkness will shine.
And his ratings will be off the charts

[Irish_Dem]

37. Yes I think he would burn down the US before he flees.

[Cheezoholic]

43. The grift machine

Started up within a couple hours after he was supposedly surprisingly informed and it was a massive push. I have a fake Fat Nixon subscription to the machine and I received 12 emails begging for lawyer money that lawyers will never "legitimately" see by 10pm. That was the most in that short period of time since the document raid. Asking for donations of up to 100k I kid you not lol. It's a fine tuned well oiled grifting system. I think the ad companies for those "commemorative" coins (with microscopic print "this isn't the federal reserve&quot you used to see in magazines are running the machine with ex Ernest Angley fund raising supervisors.
These POS's are vile

[Irish_Dem]

44. He is a ruthless sociopath, a career criminal.

[JanLip]

52. I agree with you

He’ll try anything to get what he wants. And maggots will help him. I think there will be a trial but he will escape before being sent to jail where he belongs. If any of us did a smidging of what he’s done we would be on death row now.

Jan

[Irish_Dem]

59. Yes there were still be the MAGAs who support him.

And yes Trump could try to escape.
But seems unlikely the DOJ will send Trump to jail.

[rsdsharp]

11. It would raise an interesting Constitutional question if he runs.

To be eligible, you must be a US resident for 14 years. It’s never been construed. If it’s construed to mean the 14 years immediately prior to election or inauguration, he wouldn’t be eligible if he’s in KSA or Russia, or wherever.

[carpetbagger]

18. If Trump wins, a GOP Congress will certify.

So won't be an issue.

[rsdsharp]

21. A court might not. And then it would be.

[carpetbagger]

31. Can't imagine the court doing that.

It's a textually ambiguous argument at best. If the USSC has a dog in the fight, it would be Trump. The current court is shaped by Bush v Gore, which deferred certification to legislative bodies, even on a much stronger ground of the 14th amendment.

So they would have to create new jurisprudence and philosophy, going against their tendency, and against their guy. All this to overturn a very clear precedent. Herbert Hoover lived abroad for much of his adult life as a private citizen in private industry, not returning to the United States until 1916, less than 14 years before his 1929 inauguration. There isn't caselaw as there was never a legal challenge, but Hoover's status was well known, discussed, and it appears that the entirety of American polity accepted his eligibility.

[grantcart]

66. "been a resident" not currently. Not going to be an issue i any case

[rsdsharp]

67. The language is actually

“be a resident in the United States for at least 14 years.” An argument can be made that “be” implies currency.

[dflprincess]

12. He'll have a convenient "heart attack"

like Ken Lay and we'll never be sure if he's dead or living in a country with no extradition treaty with the U.S.

[Mme. Defarge]

17. Beat me to it!

There was someone else who conveniently died right before he was supposed to testify in the Iran/Contra trial (I think). Can’t remember his name.

[dflprincess]

19. William Casey former head of the CIA

died of a brain tumor (or so we're told). If he lived in Russia he would have fallen out a window.

[Mme. Defarge]

32. Merci!

Yes, so we were told.

[moniss]

26. William Casey

who was the CIA chief. But it wasn't a heart attack. It's a little more involved but it's in his Wiki page.

[roamer65]

28. Or a fall from a balcony.

[Vogon_Glory]

13. So what are Trumpie's options?

Unless he can get someone to fly him out of Florida, his options for flight are limited. Florida is a peninsula, so fleeing by land is out. Fleeing by boat isn’t much better: I doubt that the Bahamians would have him, he wouldn’t like Haiti, I suspect that he’d be found before he got to the Dominican Republic, and both Mexico and Cuba would cheerfully hand him over to the US authorities.

I’m going to sit back and indulge in some schadenfreude.

[niyad]

34. He is in NJ, and I would guess his plane is fueled and ready.

[we can do it]

42. And all the while we've been blaming the stench on wildfires.

[niyad]

45. You poor things.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

15. Naa

Not the cut and run type.

[TomSlick]

16. It is, as the Baptist preacher said, everlastingly too late.

Any sign of attempting to leave the country now would result in immediate arrest.

[former9thward]

27. Not true.

He took a foreign trip after the NY indictments.

[TomSlick]

53. True, but that's neither a federal indictment nor an espionage allegation.

I would love to see Trump attempt to do a runner. It would not end well.

[H2O Man]

23. Very unlikely.

[Uncle Joe]

24. I agree, *rump's never known physical discomfort his entire life

He has no moral or ethical compass, he's highly emotional and has the means to try.

Thanks for the thread First Speaker

[Scrivener7]

47. I agree. The easiest for him would be to feign a heart attack as someone said.

But fleeing is the second easiest.

I am not writing off the possibility that he might off himself down the road when his options dry up, but that would require the magats and the press to turn on him and be consistently truthfully negative about him. That doesn't seem likely.

[Fiendish Thingy]

25. Nah, he's not leaving.

That’s just a melodramatic fantasy with no basis in reality.

[Carlitos Brigante]

29. Where's he gonna go, the UK? Then have to learn

another language? Fuhgetaboutit!

[dalton99a]

30. Donald Trump will die at home in his own bed watching porn

or sitting on his toilet tweeting out new threats to random imaginary enemies

He will not spend one night in jail

[Lulu Latech]

35. Perhaps he'll get a visit from Bill Barr

More likely though he will be confined to one of his properties and be "diagnosed" with dementia. Though he will be found guilty of his crimes his supporters can feel righteous in their pity.

[JHB]

38. I'm pretty sure Vlad has a place for him

Above the Arctic Circle

[treestar]

48. St. Helena Island

where Napoleon was finally kept.

[JHB]

51. Too balmy.

[ariadne0614]

39. Would his Secret Service detail hafta go with him? n/t

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

69. The Secret Service wouldn't go with him

Because they would be required to report an escape attempt to whoever would handle preventing it. Either FBI or US Marshals.

Remember, the SS has to coordinate all kinds of things before he can go anywhere, so they can easily rat him out under the guise of prepping to get him from point A to point B. They'll take him to the airport, and then only TFG will be so stupid as to be shocked that the feds are there to greet him.

[Vinca]

40. I always wondered if Trump was the reason Pootie claimed to be building a

village for Americans outside of Moscow. Maybe the great orange one will be the mayor.

[niyad]

46. Very interesting thought.

[Emile]

41. Lock him up until the trial.

[NowISeetheLight]

54. Definitely

I'd consider him a "Flight Risk".

[moondust]

56. Does Aeroflot land at PBI?

Maybe Snowden has a basement he can rent.

[prodigitalson]

57. fine

bye

[JHB]

60. Vladivostok

[phylny]

63. With any luck, if he flees, it'll

be to Puerto Rico.

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

68. He won't leave

You forget about the Secret Service. I realize they don't have the greatest reputation, and that some of them are MAGAts...

But even the MAGAts among them won't risk prison to help him escape from justice--and it is a crime to help someone escape justice, even if they're only under indictment. That's why they'll report him if he tries to escape, and all kinds of federal agents will be there to great the disgusting slimeball wherever he goes to attempt an escape.

And if that comes to pass, let's hope that the LEOs are wearing body cameras. I want to see him jacked up on a tarmac, knee in *his* fat, pasty-white neck and him crying for his Mama.