Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez said Friday that former President Donald Trump “should serve time” if he is found guilty of federal charges in a Jan. 6 investigation by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
Gonzales, who served under former President George W. Bush, commented in an interview with MSNBC.
“If he was actually convicted of the crimes accused by Jack Smith and the Department of Justice, frankly, I think he should go to jail,” said host Jenn Psakih, formerly of Biden. spokesman for the president.
“There are people who went to the Capitol on January 6th – maybe not at the explicit direction of President Trump – but certainly the president did nothing to stop what happened that day. No,” the former Justice Department chief continued. “They are in prison.”
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Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez speaks with Attorney General William Barr about the Mueller Report at the American Bar Association (ABA) Young Lawyers Division Spring 2019 Conference in Washington, D.C., May 3, 2019. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Gonzalez said it would be “fair” for Trump to go to prison if he was convicted of the crimes he was charged with. But he warned, “There’s a long way to go to get there.”
Trump, the 2024 Republican front-runner, has been charged with conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to obstruct official process, obstructing and attempting to obstruct official process, and conspiring against rights.
If convicted, Trump could face up to 20 years in prison on two charges related to obstruction of justice. He could also face up to 10 years in prison for conspiracy against rights and up to five years for conspiracy to defraud the United States.
Trump pleaded not guilty to those charges earlier this month in US District Court for the District of Columbia.
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![Donald Trump and Jack Smith](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/08/640/320/Trump-Smith.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Former President Donald Trump has been charged with conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to obstruct official process, obstructing and attempting to obstruct official process, and conspiring against rights, under an indictment filed by Special Counsel Jack Smith. there is (Getty Images)
The indictment stems from Smith’s investigation into whether Trump and other officials and entities interfered with the peaceful transition of power after the 2020 presidential election, including the authentication of the January 6, 2021 electoral vote. It is a thing.
Judge Tanya Chutkan, who presided over multiple January 6 cases and is famously tough on Capitol Riot defendants, is overseeing Trump’s case.
In a court filing, the Justice Department recommended that Trump’s trial should begin on January 2, 2024.
But Trump’s lawyers are hoping for an April 2026 trial date. He argued that a multi-year delay was necessary, citing both the unprecedented nature of the lawsuit and the “huge” amount of information (11.5 million pages) that had to be considered. They said they would need to review about 100,000 pages a day to meet the Justice Department’s proposed trial date.
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![Former President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/04/640/320/Trump-Indictment_152.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
If convicted in the 2020 election case and given the maximum sentence, Trump could spend the rest of his life in prison. (AP photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Chutkan is expected to set a provisional trial date at a court hearing on August 28.
Trump and 18 others were indicted in Fulton County, Georgia, earlier this week in connection with efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Fulton County District Attorney Fanny Willis is proposing a trial date of March 4 on the eve of Super Tuesday, the day before the largest number of delegates in the Republican presidential primary.
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The former president is also scheduled to appear in court on March 25 in a New York lawsuit related to alleged hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
In addition, a federal judge in Florida has set a May 20 trial date for Trump’s alleged illegal storage of classified documents and concealment from investigators.
Brooke Singman of FOX News, Houston Keane, Jake Gibson, Bradford Betts and The Associated Press contributed to this report.