Trump Will 'Fold Like a House of Cards' to Avoid Prison: Kirschner

Former President Donald Trump will "fold like a house of cards" to avoid prison if he gets indicted in any of the ongoing criminal investigations against him, according to former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner.

Brian Tyler Cohen, host of The Legal Breakdown, asked Kirschner on Saturday whether or not he thinks Trump will be charged in different cases if an indictment is handed down against him in the Georgia election probe.

"I would like to think that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has the kind of backbone [and] has the kind of bravery, and the kind of determination to move forward with indictments against the former president and his criminal associates," Kirschner responded.

The former federal prosecutor and MSNBC legal analyst is hoping that the DOJ wouldn't need Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is handling the Georgia probe, to take the first step in bringing charges against Trump so that they could follow suit and indict him in other cases.

Trump and some of his allies are being investigated for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. Willis on Tuesday urged Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney to not publicly reveal the findings of a special grand jury that spent months looking into the case.

Willis also asked the judge to be wary of "protecting future defendants' rights," with regard to the ongoing criminal probe. She added that a decision on potential criminal charges is "imminent," but didn't mention any names.

Kirschner on Saturday said he thinks that charges brought against the former president in the Georgia election probe will "embolden" and "encourage" the DOJ to "accelerate" its pace and move in the direction of indictments a bit faster.

"I think prosecutors who are investigating Donald Trump are going to need all the support they can find both legally and atmospherically, and that's why I think once one indictment drops, and the others begin to drop, that's when you're going to see Donald Trump fold like a house of cards. And I think he's going to be desperate to strike whatever kind of deals he can strike to minimize his exposure, ultimately, to prison," the former federal prosecutor added.

During a Thursday episode of The Legal Breakdown, Kirschner predicted that Trump could face trial within "one year" if he's indicted in the Georgia election investigation.

"If I had to guess, once the indictments are returned and Donald Trump is presented in court on that indictment, and he is arraigned, [and]...read the charges that the grand jury has leveled against him, we'll probably see a trial date set somewhere between six months to a year down the road, but the defense attorney will forever try to file motions to continue to push it further and further down the road," he said.

Trump, who has continued to maintain his innocence, is being investigated in other criminal probes including the way he allegedly handled classified documents, which were seized by FBI agents from his Mar-a-Lago residence last August, and his alleged involvement in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot when his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building to stop Joe Biden's Electoral College certification.

Newsweek reached out to Trump's media office for comment.