Most crimes have a State and Federal equivalent. The legal particulars of a case deciding which variant a suspect gets charged with. For example a State may have a charge for ‘Intent to Distribute Narcotics’ which a suspect with 10kilos of coke gets arrested for during a traffic stop. The investigation reveals the suspect had driven into the charging state from an adjacent one. Boom: Federal charge now.
In Trump’s case they may try, or have tried, to argue that it is a federal case due to the relation to interfering with the national election. IMO this will strongly suggest the pardon plan is their intent because Federal cases are more severe, with higher penalties and stronger conviction rates than their equivalent State variants. The only reason I can see wanting to risk greater penalties is the possibility of getting SCOTUS to rule on the appeal and that Trump could pardon himself if elected.
Most crimes have a State and Federal equivalent. The legal particulars of a case deciding which variant a suspect gets charged with. For example a State may have a charge for ‘Intent to Distribute Narcotics’ which a suspect with 10kilos of coke gets arrested for during a traffic stop. The investigation reveals the suspect had driven into the charging state from an adjacent one. Boom: Federal charge now. In Trump’s case they may try, or have tried, to argue that it is a federal case due to the relation to interfering with the national election. IMO this will strongly suggest the pardon plan is their intent because Federal cases are more severe, with higher penalties and stronger conviction rates than their equivalent State variants. The only reason I can see wanting to risk greater penalties is the possibility of getting SCOTUS to rule on the appeal and that Trump could pardon himself if elected.