During a recent episode of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” host Bill Maher put forth a provocative scenario.
Maher speculated that former President Donald Trump could face legal consequences yet still clinch the presidency and govern the nation “from an orange jumpsuit.”
In a spirited conversation, Maher’s guests, Paul Begala and Bret Stephens, along with Alexandra Pelosi, the filmmaker behind “The Insurrectionist Next Door,” discussed the ongoing legal challenges Trump faces in Georgia.
Trump and 18 co-defendants including Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Kenneth Cheseboro were indicted by the Georgia grand jury for election interference.
The investigation into the election interference is led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Notably, two of Trump’s co-defendants in the case have already entered guilty pleas, reported Mediaite.
Cheseboro and Powell took guilty plea deals as they are required to testify against the co-defendants.
Trump would later down play Sidney Powell’s involvement claiming that she “wasn’t” his attorney on Truth Social.
“Ms. Powell was not my attorney, and never was,” said Trump on Truth Social. “In fact, she would have been conflicted. Ms. Powell did a valiant job of representing a very unfairly treated and governmentally abused General Mike Flynn, but to no avail.”
Begala, shedding light on Trump’s precarious situation, said, “I did talk to friends of mine who were lawyers in Georgia, real lawyers, and this is not good for him.”
He humorously added that, while he’s technically a lawyer, he wouldn’t hire himself if he were in legal trouble.
However, Stephens presented a contrasting viewpoint, observing, “With every successive prosecution, his numbers have gone up.”
He opined that as Trump’s legal woes mount, the former president’s core supporters will only become more fervent. For a significant portion of the American populace, the barrage of charges against Trump have become mere background noise, Stephens said.
Stephens also underscored that the most potent weapon against Trump could be the ballot box. Maher, never one to shy away from colorful imagery, painted a scenario where Trump, while potentially under house arrest at Mar-a-Lago, could still wield presidential power.
“It’s also very much possible, I think. And I don’t think we’ll ever send him to jail,” said Maher about Trump. “But I think he could get house arrest at Mar-a-Lago and be the president simultaneously and run this world from an orange jumpsuit.”
Begala further joked about Trump already possessing classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, while Stephens mused that Trump might not even need to leave his restroom in such a situation.
Produced in association with Benzinga
