Donald Trump should be denied bail for his Jan 6 crimes!

Trump is a threat to our nation

Donald Trump will appear in a Washington, D.C. federal courtroom on Thursday to be arraigned on four felony charges arising from his efforts to overturn the 2020 election to remain in power despite losing. Trump should NOT be permitted to leave the courthouse after the hearing. Instead, Trump should be detained until his trial date given that he is a “danger to the community.”

But also—and of vital importance—Trump should be denied bail given he was the mastermind of a plot to end our democratic Republic. That is what he and his co-conspirators were seeking to do. In what world could a person attempt a coup, be charged with crimes in connection with it, and then be released on his own recognizance?!

Let’s get back to the law. In cases involving Jan 6 defendants, the federal courts in Washington, D.C.—which have extensive experience handling these cases—have laid out that, “Despite the 'serious and chilling nature' of the events that took place at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6,” not all charged should be held without bail.”

Rather the courts in interpreting the relevant federal statute have opined, “To justify detention on the basis of dangerousness, the government must prove by ‘clear and convincing evidence’ that ‘no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the safety of any other person and the community.’”

No one can deny Trump poses a danger “to the community ”given he is the reason for the Jan 6 attack as well as countless others acts of violence carried out by his supporters against targets Trump has attacked.  In fact, Special Counsel Jack Smith drew a straight line form Trump to the Jan 6 attack noting that the attack was “fueled by lies,” adding, “Lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the U.S. government, the nation’s process of collecting, counting, and certifying the results of the presidential election.”

That is not just my view but also former 30-year federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner who was an assistant US Attorney in that very jurisdiction that Trump is charged. Kirschner recently stated on my SiriusXM show as the Jan 6 charges were pending: "Donald Trump should be detained pending trial. And I say that not from my own personal preference or animosity, I have for the man."

The former prosecutor added, "I say it because the law provides that when there is clear and convincing evidence that a defendant pending trial presents a danger to the community he is supposed to be detained, or she is supposed to be detained pending trial, that's the law."

Kirschner then persuasively cited a recent example of Trump supporter being arrested as an example: "What did we see Donald Trump do recently? He posted President Obama's address and one of his followers, a guy named Taylor Taranto read it, reposted it on his social media platform and then armed himself with two guns, 400 rounds of ammunition, a machete and then headed toward President Obama's home."

Kirschner is 100 percent correct.

Keep in mind that last August, a self-professed Trump supporter waged a terrorist attack on an FBI field office in Cincinnati armed with a nail gun and an assault rifle to avenge Trump after Trump’s Mar-a-Lago was searched. This MAGA terrorist was later killed by the police in a shoot-out.

And as The Washington Post recently reported, “prosecutors involved in the classified documents case against former president Donald Trump are facing substantial harassment and threats online and elsewhere.” The article noted, “Far-right Trump supporters are posting the names of prosecutors and government workers online and yelling them at demonstrations, threatening them and sometimes revealing details about their personal lives.”

On Wednesday night, Trump reminded us how dangerous he is not only attacking the case but releasing an ominous Black and white video on his social media platform featuring his voiceover saying: “This is the final battle.”

And at his rally Saturday, Trump told his supporters, “They want to take away my freedom because they want to take away your freedom…and I will never let that happen,” as he urged his supporters to fight harder for him saying, “Republicans just don’t fight the way — they’re good people, but they don’t fight the way they’re supposed to fight.”

Trump, who is now facing 78 felonies, is even more dangerous than ever. He understands that his only chance to avoid jail is winning the 2024 election. Given Trump’s history of violence, does anyone doubt that he will incite more especially as the election approaches if he feels it could help him win?!

The sheer number of charges of Trump—and the prospect more are coming—also objectively increases the possibility Trump will flee from the United States to avoid prosecution. Keep in mind, Secret Service agents are charged with guarding Trump, not arresting him if he leaves the nation on his private jet—as former FBI special agent Frank Figliuzzi explained several months ago on my show.

Before Trump’s arraignment in his Espionage case, I wrote an article arguing that since Reality Winner (one count) and 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guard member (two counts) were both denied bail before trial, Trump should be as well given he was charged with 31 counts of Espionage. Of course, that didn’t happen.

I will concede that it is unlikely that Trump will be denied bail today. Not because the facts and law don’t support it, but given he is the leading 2024 GOP presidential candidate, federal prosecutors may not even request it.  The hope is that prosecutors request some bail conditions so that if Trump does begin inciting violence, he could then be remanded to prison to await trial.

We are told time and time again that, “no one is above the law.” It’s time to show that by detaining Trump until trial the same way the most dangerous Jan 6 defendants were. After all, everything those attackers did, they did in the service of Trump.

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