‘We don’t accept plea deals’: Trump rejects idea as Georgia election meddling prepares to go to grand jury next week

Donald Trump said Saturday he would never accept “a plea deal” as Georgia prosecutors prepare to appear before a grand jury early next week with their investigation into election interference by the former president and his allies.

‘We haven’t done anything wrong. We never make a plea deal. We don’t take plea deals. It’s a sensible question,” Trump told reporters on the Des Moines airport ramp after visiting the Iowa State Fair.

“We don’t accept plea deals because we haven’t done anything wrong. That’s called election interference,” he said.

A plea deal could prevent the former president from facing jail time if convicted on any of the three charges he faces.

Trump faces a laundry list of legal troubles, including 40 federal indictments in Florida, the Stormy Daniels hush-hush case in Manhattan, and federal charges related to the January 6 riot at the Capitol.

And he may face more charges next week, this time in Georgia.

Two witnesses in the case, former lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan and independent journalist George Chidi, revealed on Saturday that they had been ordered to appear before a grand jury in Fulton County on Tuesday to testify about efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election results. to make. in that state.

That indicates Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is moving forward with a grand jury presentation in which she is expected to press charges against more than a dozen people arising from her investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. to make.

Her investigation focused on efforts to pressure state election officials, the plot to put forward rogue voters, and a violation of voting systems in rural Coffee County, Georgia.

It began shortly after Trump made a phone call to the state’s top election official, Republican Brad Raffensperger, urging him to “find” enough votes to change the outcome. Trump called it a “perfect call” and said he did nothing wrong.

If Trump is indicted in Georgia, it will follow his federal indictment earlier this month in connection with his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Unlike federal convictions, if Trump were re-elected as president, he would not be able to try to pardon himself if convicted of state crimes in Georgia. He may also face a state trial if he is in the Oval Office. Traditionally, the Justice Department does not prosecute presidents, but prosecutors have no such rule.

Pro-Trump protesters demonstrate against the results of the US presidential election outside the Georgia State Capitol on November 18, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia

If Trump is charged in Georgia, he will have to travel to Atlanta in the aftermath to be booked and charged.

Numerous security measures are in place at the downtown courthouse.

In a post on his Truth Social site on Saturday, Trump again called the Georgia investigation a “witch hunt.”

He has called all investigations against him a political persecution as he makes another bid for the White House.

In addition, Trump has spent a lot of money on his legal defense.

In the first half of 2023, his political action committee received $67 million in donations but spent more than $90 million, $27 million of which went to Trump’s legal accounts, an average of 30 cents of every dollar they raised.

That amounts to a $23 million shortfall, with the ex-president potentially forced to reach into his own pockets after being charged again several weeks ago.