Donald Trump Faces 78 Felony Charges and 561 Years in Prison

Washington – Former President of the United States, Donald Trump faces 78 felony charges across three criminal cases, many of them carrying the potential for hefty prison time. 

If Trump were convicted on all counts and given the maximum statutory penalty for each one, he would face a whopping 641 years in prison. And that’s not counting additional criminal charges he may face in Georgia, where the district attorney in Fulton County may be on the verge of indicting him this month.

But the reality of any prison term that Trump could plausibly receive is far more complicated.

In both state and federal courts, judges have wide latitude in sentencing. None of the crimes Trump has been charged with carry a mandatory minimum sentence, and defendants with no prior criminal record  a status that, at least for now, applies to Trump rarely receive the maximum. 

And if the 77-year-old former president were convicted of multiple counts within the same case, any sentences for those counts might run simultaneously, rather than being stacked on top of each other.

More broadly, sending Trump to prison could raise unprecedented practical and legal issues that would be on any judge’s mind. For one thing, there is the extraordinary logistical challenge of jailing a former president who is entitled to around-the-clock Secret Service protection. 

For another, there is the potential constitutional crisis that could ensue if Trump were reelected to the White House in 2024 and then ordered by a judge to serve out a prison term.

Those concerns aside, some of the felonies Trump is accused of particularly in the two federal cases brought by special counsel Jack Smith routinely entail significant sentences.

Legal experts anticipate that Smith’s team, if they obtain convictions against Trump, will seek substantial prison time in both cases they have brought, one involving his retention of classified documents and the other involving his bid to overturn the 2020 election.

Trump himself has even touted the threat of a significant prison sentence in recent fundraising emails, with his campaign and a PAC saying in late July.

“While my primary opponents continue to take cheap swipes at me as the Department of Justice plots ways to throw me in JAIL for up to 561 YEARS, I am asking you to stand with me at this pivotal moment in the election," Donald Trump said. 

The charges that might carry the most severe penalties for Trump involve obstruction of justice. In both federal cases, Smith has accused him of violating various provisions of the federal statutes that prohibit obstructing official proceedings or obstructing investigations. 

All of the obstruction charges – which include allegedly impeding the government’s attempts to retrieve the classified documents and disrupting the Jan. 6, 2021, session of Congress – have a 20-year maximum sentence.