President Trump is reluctant to leave the nation's highest office because he does not want to concede the national election to President-elect Joe Biden. He has enjoyed the presidential perks of expert secret service protection and boosts his world-wide business real estate empire.

The Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and the International Hotel in Washington D.C. have significantly benefited from governmental expenditures. The secret service has charged the American taxpayers over $600 a night for Trump's hotel rooms. Foreign diplomats have stayed at Trump's hotels as they ask for political favors.

What is even more pressing is that the president supposedly owes over $400 million to American and International banks. Those debts become due in the next four years. Trump's real estate brand has suffered financially, and it is not as profitable before.

Criminal Investigations

Besides that, Trump may be facing an onslaught of lawsuits from New York's Attorney General's office criminal investigation into Trump's tax returns for inflating business assets to obtain fraudulent bank loans and then overstating losses for tax write-offs, to Mary Trump's civil lawsuit to be included in the family inheritance.

Wave of Pardons

Expect to see a wave of pardons during the last few days of the Trump Administration. Trump pardoned Michael Flynn for his part in lying to the F.B.I. twice about his Russian ambassador contacts during the 2016 presidential transition. This did not wipe away Flynn's record, but it has opened the door so that other convicted criminals can seek clemency and pardons from Trump.

Alan Dershowitz

Attorneys expect that Trump extends his presidential authority and gives clemency to associates and aides who have seen themselves in legal trouble since the beginning of 2016.

The attorney Alan Dershowitz is representing two clients who had extensive legal difficulties. One of his clients is a New Jersey native serving 20 years in prison for defrauding investors.

Another is a billionaire businessman who is also a personal friend of Trump. He committed one of the worst governmental scandals in the history of North Carolina. Both of Dershowitz's clients would like clemency.

Dershowitz also represented Trump during his impeachment scandal. He has since praised Trump for extending clemency to Flynn, and he intends on asking for a pardon for his other high-profile clients as well.

The Criminal Justice System

Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, has been working closely with the president. Many criminal offenders have been serving long sentences for non-violent offenses like money laundering, drug offenses, and embezzlement.

Typically, the end of an administration is prime time for convicted felons to ask for pardons. A Vermont attorney specializing in presidential pardons, Brandon Sample, has given the White House several names of people who would like a pardon. Among them is Russell Bradley, age 57, who is serving a life sentence for cocaine.

The criminal justice system needs reforms, and the White House seeks to commute these long sentences. The Trump administration is notorious for the sheer amount of criminal conspiracies and convictions. Other individuals who were close to Trump may also be seeking a new way forward:

• Michael Cohen: Trump's personal attorney who paid off a playmate for not telling her story.


• Roger Stone: Trump's confidant and personal advisor.


• Stephen Bannon: A former member of Trump's inner circle who redirected campaign funds to build a wall at the Mexican border.


• Paul Manafort: Trump’s former campaign chairman.


• Elliott Broidy: Plead guilty to an outside lobbying case.


• George Papadopoulos: Trump’s former campaign advisor


• Rick Gates: Also, Trump’s former campaign advisor

Ill Will

Democrats are aghast to Trump's political pardons, and they do not like what is happening in the White House. So far, Trump has granted friends and allies 28 pardons, and he has reduced up to 16 prison sentences.

The invasive investigations into Trump's dealings may have left him feeling vindictive as he sought to release individuals who aided his message either through campaign reelection or governance.

Gates published a book while he was serving a 45-day prison sentence explaining that investigators sought strong-arm tactics to elicit information in compliance to the Russian investigation when there was little proof of any wrong-doing. Gates said it was his "motivation in writing the book…to expose the truth about the Russian investigation."

After all the unusual revelations into Trump's dealings, what political pundits want to know is will Trump pardon himself to escape incarceration? Never in American history has a former sitting president be sent to prison. Legal experts weigh in. Constitutionally, Trump can pardon himself to escape prosecution, but judicially speaking, you cannot be the judge in your own case.