Ex-Trump WH Lawyer Tells CNN Anchor Trump ‘Will Not Be Incarcerated’ Before Inauguration — Even If He’s Convicted

Former Trump White House lawyer Ty Cobb told CNN host Erin Burnett that former President Donald Trump won’t go to prison before Inauguration Day 2025 even if he’s convicted — meaning if he wins he can make the conviction “go away.”

It has been three weeks since the stunning appeals court hearing at which Trump’s attorney argued that a president could order Seal Team Six to assassinate a political rival and not face prosecution unless he were impeached and convicted first.

CNN host Erin Burnett interviewed Cobb on Wednesday night’s edition of CNN’s OutFront, and noted there’s still no sign of a decision on that appeal. She asked Cobb about the delay, and what it means for settling Trump’s cases before the election:

COBB: My own view as we’ve discussed before, along with, you know, several other constitutional scholars, although many people disagree, is that the Supreme Court is unlikely in the — in the event of a strong D.C. circuit opinion is unlikely to take this case up pre-conviction.

HANNITY: All right. So, then when you talk about conviction, right, you have to have the trial.

COBB: Right.

HANNITY: And that didn’t get there and then appeals. But if you look at the timeline, Norm Eisen laid out that how he thought that this could actually end up delaying the beginning of the trial until August.

Now, if you do that, there’s a — you know, long-standing kind of DOJ rule, right? That you don’t have, you know, public steps that could influence an election within 60 days in an election. James Comey —

COBB: Right.

BURNETT: — you know, could talk about that.

Okay. So that would put you there. So I guess the question is, do you think its possible that this case which was scheduled originally to start on March 4th, could possibly not start at all before the election?

COBB: No, I believe — I — so do I think that’s possible? Yes. I think that’s — I think that’s very possible. I still think it’s 60/40 that the case will go forward in late May or June, assuming an opinion within the next week.

And I do believe that, you know, it is possible to get the trial done, but obviously the appeal would not be completed before Trump — if he — should he win, would be inaugurated. And at that point, he will have the ability to order his Justice Department to dismiss the appeal. And, you know, this case will be as though it never existed.

He’s not going to pardon himself. It’s sad to see journalists still insisting that’s a possibility because, A, it was never a possibility and, B, its unnecessary because all he has to do is direct the Justice Department to dismiss the — dismiss the appeals.

But, yeah, I think he’s not going to be incarcerated in advance of inauguration should he win.

Watch above via CNN’s OutFront.