Media

Fox News’s Turley: Trump could face ‘terminal sentence’ if DOJ proves even one count

by Dominick Mastrangelo - 06/12/23 11:26 AM ET

Fox News legal analyst Jonathan Turley says former President Trump could die in prison if convicted on just one count after being indicted by the Justice Department last week on dozens of charges related to his handling of classified documents.

“The problem is, he’s got to run the table — he’s 76 years old,” Turley, an opinion contributor for The Hill, said of Trump during an appearance on Fox News. “All the government has to do is stick the landing on one count, and he could have a terminal sentence. You’re talking about crimes that have a 10- or 20-year period as a maximum.”

Turley said the evidence laid out against Trump in the indictment revealed last week is “quite strong.”

“Now, we have not heard their other side. Generally, the indictments are a lot stronger on the day they are issued than on the next day, so they may be able to knock down some of these issues,” Turley said. “But some of the evidence is coming from his former counsel, and these are very damaging statements made against him. It may be hard to move those.”

The indictment alleges Trump violated the Espionage Act, with federal prosecutors saying the president put “the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military, and human sources and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence collection methods,” at risk.

Trump is leaving his Bedminster, N.J., golf club Monday and heading to Miami, where he is slated to be arraigned on the charges against him Tuesday afternoon.

—Updated Tuesday at 10:39 a.m.