Nobody is above the law, not even former presidents. We will have a peaceful transition of power, and President-elect Joe Biden is going to be sworn in on Jan. 20.
I believe President Trump has several choices to make prior to Jan. 20 to avoid prosecution (money laundering, bank and insurance fraud, tax evasion — see Cyrus Vance Jr., New York County district attorney), none of them good. He can resign prior to Jan. 20 and have President Mike Pence give him a pardon. I don’t believe Biden is going to. A pardon is of no use anyway, since the crimes are also state crimes.
Accepting a pardon is an admission of guilt. After being pardoned, you can no longer plead the Fifth Amendment, and have to testify. Also, a pardon does not protect you from civil lawsuits. Letitial James, New York attorney general, is working on civil; Vance is handling criminal.
If Trump is still in the White House on Jan. 20, he will be trespassing and it will be up to the Secret Service to evict him. He may try to skedaddle. Trump did say he may leave the country if he loses. He was actually telling the truth for a change. Trump may try to leave the country, probably heading to Moscow, prior to Jan. 20 in the Trump jet, possibly even in Air Force One. If he heads to Florida and Mar-a-Lago, hoping the Republican governor will protect him, that won’t work either. There are extradition agreements between New York and Florida.
Lawrence Josephs
Penn Township, Westmoreland County