It was exactly two years ago this week when Jane Mayer wrote a piece for The New Yorker, raising the prospect of a nightmarish legal/political scenario.
After noting Donald Trump’s willingness to “engage in almost unthinkable tactics to protect himself,” the article added, “Among his social circle in Palm Beach, speculation abounds that Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, an ally, might not honor an extradition request from New York if a bench warrant were issued for Trump’s arrest.”
At the time, this was quite striking for a variety of reasons. It was just two months after President Joe Biden’s inauguration, and there was growing speculation about then-Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance eyeing possible fraud charges against Trump. Under normal circumstances, if prosecutors in one state were to indict someone in another state, the geography wouldn’t much matter: The accused would be expected to travel as part of the legal proceedings.
But Mayer’s piece, amidst related speculation, led to an uncomfortable conversation: What if Trump refused to go to New York? What if DeSantis refused to extradite the former president?
For now, it appears those fears can be put aside. NBC News reported on Friday afternoon:
Trump’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, told NBC News that the former president will follow normal procedures if it gets to the point of having to surrender to authorities from the DA’s office.
The New York Daily News published a related report, quoting Tacopina saying, “There won’t be a standoff at Mar-a-Lago with Secret Service and the Manhattan DA’s office,” but the lawyer soon after denied having said that. Either way, the bottom line remains the same: If Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicts Trump in the hush money case, and the former president predicted that this will in fact happen, the Republican is prepared to go to New York and follow “normal procedures.” That’s encouraging, to be sure. But in case Tacopina is mistaken, and his client starts having provocative ideas, I’d remind them to consider an MSNBC piece Steve Vladeck wrote a couple of years ago. Vladeck, a University of Texas law school professor and an MSNBC opinion columnist, explained, “If Trump is indicted in New York, both the U.S. Constitution and a federal statute dating to 1793 require DeSantis (or the governor of whatever state Trump is in at the time) to hand him over. And if DeSantis still refuses, a 1987 Supreme Court decision makes clear that federal courts can order him to comply. Unlike in cases of international extradition, where treaties often leave significant room for political and diplomatic machinations and maneuvering, the law of interstate extradition is both clear and straightforward.”
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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