Acting AG Todd Blanche believes Trump ‘absolutely’ faced prison without 2024 election win

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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche believes President Donald Trump would have “absolutely” faced prison time if he had not won the 2024 presidential election.

Blanche led Trump’s defense team in the infamous hush money trial in 2024 when he was convicted of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, a pornographic performer, in the lead-up to the 2016 election to silence her about an alleged affair. The acting attorney general told “Hang Out with Sean Hannity” that Trump evaded time behind bars after being convicted of 34 felonies by winning the presidency.

“[Trump] was convicted on 34 felony charges,” Fox News host Sean Hannity said. “So, is it an accurate statement to say, ‘He either wins in 2024, wins the White House—it’s either the White House or the big house?’”

“Yes. I mean — oh, yeah, absolutely,” Blanche replied.

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Donald Trump sits in courtroom with attorneys during criminal trial proceedings.

“He had a D.C. case breathing down his neck. He had the Florida case, which had been dismissed, but they were appealing it,” the AG continued. “And then he had a judge in New York. There’s no scenario in which he wasn’t going to send President Trump to prison—and he didn’t after the president won.”

Trump’s conviction of 34 felony counts marked the first criminal conviction of a current or former U.S. president.

The judge granted Trump an unconditional discharge, which affirmed his status as a convicted felon while sparing him from further penalties, fines or jail time.

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The Manhattan District Attorney’s office described Trump’s crimes as “falsifying New York business records in order to conceal his illegal scheme to corrupt the 2016 election.”

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaking at a press conference in New York

Blanche called the 34 felony counts an “incredible travesty” and alleged prosecutors used “tainted” evidence that had been rejected by the Southern District of New York (SDNY) to convict Trump.

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“They had to use all kinds of novel legal theories, including claiming that it was a campaign contribution, that it clearly was not,” Blanche claimed.

“It was before the election, had nothing to do with the election. The payments started after the election,” he added.

The acting AG argued that Trump would not have faced federal prosecution had he not launched a presidential campaign.

Former President Donald Trump speaking to media outside Manhattan Criminal Court

“If he had decided not to run, all of this, none of this would have happened,” Hannity asserted.

“Without a doubt,” Blanche affirmed. “And those smug prosecutors would say, ‘Oh no, this has nothing to do with the fact that he’s running.’ All right. Yeah, you should work on that in the mirror.”

Blanche claimed it was “impossible” for Trump’s trial to be fair and impartial, alleging that jurors were predisposed against the president.

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“What the judge in that case did, not only in the way the jury was selected — which basically made it impossible to have anybody that was fair and impartial in the jury – [he] basically encouraged… anybody that came in the courtroom, that they could just leave,” he said.

“So, the only people that stayed are the people that see President Trump there and really want to go after him. And so, we had a jury that was not a jury of his peers.”

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Blanche said the impact of Trump’s 312-226 victory over former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 was significant for him personally and for the country.

“The consequences of 2024 for this country are priceless. But for him and his family, also priceless,” he said.

Check out Sean Hannity’s full, wide-ranging interview with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on the latest episode of “Hang Out with Sean Hannity” now available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple.

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