Trump's 'nutjob' allies are pushing for Mar-a-Lago standoff with feds: report
Donald Trump has been huddling with advisers to game out his options if he's indicted in Manhattan.
The former president can choose to show up in court in New York City or force authorities to haul him out of Mar-a-Lago, and the reality TV veteran is weighing which option would generate the most drama.
However, a source close to Trump told The Daily Beast he'll most likely present himself voluntarily to avoid being handcuffed.
“Being in handcuffs isn’t something Trump would want to do,” the Trump source said.
Legal experts say the ex-president probably doesn't need to worry about a perp walk.
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“I don’t think you handcuff him, and I don’t think you have two burly guys on either side of him -- you’ll have Secret Service agents,” said Andrew Bernstein, a former public defender who now represents corporations and wealthy clients accused of crimes.
“It’s a logistical nightmare and there can be violence," Bernstein added. "It would be inequitable to put a lot of strain on the clerks and court officers trying to get out on time to deal with this dog and pony show. These guys have families. They just want to get from 8:00 to 4:00 unharmed. It would be foolish to handcuff him like the potential nutjobs. It’s unfair to court officers to make this a gasoline-on-the-fire situation.”
Some of Trump's supporters have called for protests or other actions against his indictment, sometimes using inflammatory language.
“Any cop who betrays the people for politicians is a traitor and will be dealt with at a later date accordingly,” said "Stop the Steal" organizer Ali Alexander on Twitter. “Do not add your name to the fake news who are enemies of the people.”
Other right-wing allies hope Trump forces law enforcement to take him into custody at Mar-a-Lago to inflame his base.
"[That] helps from a political standpoint, absolutely,” said Jackson Lahmeyer, founder of Pastors for Trump. “That image, if they come and they do basic Third World-country tactics, if they do that — and that video footage becomes something that circulates — it totally backfires.”
“It’s one thing to talk about it, but if you see it," Lahmeyer added, "it will stir a different passion inside of you that will prompt you to action."
However, legal experts caution that Trump's interests would be best served by showing up in court when he's summoned.
“I can understand why he might think forcing New York to have him extradited from Florida might be in his political interest, because it makes it even more of a circus and enable him to spin things as even more of a witch hunt. I get that,” said Case Western Reserve University law professor Jonathan H. Adler.
“But anything he does to attenuate this makes it harder for the legal process to work through the case the way it should… let’s say the DA overcharges, let’s say Bragg is really stretching to make a felony charge and is doing so for political reasons," Adler added. "The outcome you want is for the legal process to reach that conclusion in the ordinary course. What you don’t want is for things to become such a circus that people lose confidence in the legal system’s ability to reach a fair outcome.”