Following his indictment on charges of mishandling classified documents, Donald Trump could be forced to wear an ankle monitor while awaiting trial, a former federal prosecutor said.
Joyce Vance, a legal analyst who served as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, said on MSNBC’s “The 11th Hour with Stephanie Rule” late Thursday that she does not expect the former president to be detained pending trial.
That is a “calculus based on whether or not he is a flight risk or danger to the community,” she said. Vance said Trump does not qualify as either “in the sense that federal judges understand that prong of the test to work.”
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But Trump, who Vance said is likely to be released on his own recognizance “or perhaps with an appropriate bond,” may be asked to wear an ankle monitor “or engage in some other forms of monitoring pending trial.”
”Donald Trump, like anyone else who’s been indicted in our criminal justice system, will be a defendant. He will not be able to make his own decisions about how this proceeds,” she said.
Trump was indicted for the first time in March by a Manhattan grand jury in connection with an alleged hush money payment to a porn actress in the closing days of his 2016 presidential campaign.
Others have also predicted that Trump may be asked to wear an ankle monitor.
Former FBI director James Comey said on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki” Sunday that Trump “could be wearing an ankle bracelet while accepting the nomination at the Republican convention,” if he emerges victorious.
Shannon Larson can be reached at shannon.larson@globe.com. Follow her @shannonlarson98.