As Donald Trump's hush-money trial kicks into its second day with a hearing on his apparent violation of Judge Juan Merchan's gag order, a former Department of Justice prosecutor suggested the embattled ex-president read the writing on the wall and seek a plea deal.
In an interview with Salon's Chauncey DeVega, attorney Kenneth McCallion, who investigated Trump for racketeering, stated the trial is starting off well for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office.
As he noted, the jury will soon settle in and see Trump less as a former president and more like a typical defendant which is not a factor in his favor and, although McCallion doesn't believe the former president will take his advice, he still thinks he should try and get out from under his criminal legal woes by making a deal that includes stepping aside from politics.
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According to the former prosecutor, the longer the trial goes on, the smaller a window for a deal shrinks and it might be best to get going on one before a flood of witnesses take the stand and his guilt becomes harder to dismiss.
Pressed by Salon's DeVega, McCallion first explained, "It is not going to get better. All these criminal trials are going to merge into one long continuous criminal trial, just on different charges but basically telling the same story of corruption and venality."
Having said that, he added, "I would tell him that you're running a great campaign and fielding all these cases at the same time. But now's the time to cut your losses. You can still withdraw from the campaign before the Republican Convention, and you can cut a deal with both the New York state prosecutors and the federal prosecutors. All you have to do is agree to be a regular citizen from now on and concentrate on your businesses. That's going to be a win-win situation for you."
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