Former President Donald Trump speaks at CPAC on August 6, 2022 in Dallas, Texas.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
- A former federal prosecutor said he thinks Donald Trump could potentially face treason charges.
- Ex-prosecutor Glenn Kirschner said the treason charge could result from his role in the Capitol riot.
- Trump’s action on Jan. 6 last year forced Congress to “stop the peaceful transfer of presidential power,” he said.
Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner believes Donald Trump might be indicted for treason, he said on Friday.
Kirschner, speaking in an interview with MSNBC, said Trump launched “an armed attack on the Capitol to stop the peaceful transfer of presidential power,” per Newsweek.
“Let’s not forget about that little crime that may actually amount to treason,” he said.
The Capitol riot left five people, including one police officer, dead. Members of the Proud Boys, which is classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, were also present.
Organizers were emboldened by former President Donald Trump’s urges to protest the results of the 2020 election with him, despite Joe Biden’s election victory. While members of Congress were meeting inside the Capitol to certify the results and verify Biden’s electoral win, Trump supporters organized an attempted coup and stormed the Capitol.
After the riot, insurrectionists scrambled to delete photos and social-media posts proving their participation in the Capitol riot. Some broke their cellphones, scrubbed their social media accounts, and tried to wipe hard drives that might contain photos and other proof of their involvement.
But others boasted of their involvement, making it easier for the FBI to identify and later bring charges against them. So far, at least 895 people have been charged in connection with the insurrection, according to Insider’s database.
In addition to the possible treason charge Kirschner predicts, Trump might also face a litany of other charges for actions separate from the Capitol riot — including the possibility of getting convicted of violating the Espionage Act, which carries a 10-year prison sentence, according to a legal analyst.
The Espionage Act is a law that essentially bars anyone from sharing or disseminating information that could potentially harm or disadvantage the US.
A conviction of violating the Espionage Act might potentially be brought down if investigators determine Trump committed wrongdoing by bringing boxes containing classified records home with him to his Mar-a-Lago resort after vacating the White House. Unsealed court documents noted that some of the boxes were distinctly marked as “top secret,” Insider’s Sonam Sheth reported.
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