Millions of US voters are heading to the polls for the midterms today. Donald Trump is currently in the final two years of his second presidency, with his Republican Party controlling both chambers of Congress. However, that political advantage could change following today’s election. If he loses control of either chamber of Congress, Trump could find himself facing a more challenging final two years in the White House, with Democrats potentially gaining the power to intensify investigations into his administration.
If he loses and faces potential criminal investigations in the United States, the US president may seek refuge in Russia, an international law expert has warned. Speaking during a Saturday episode of All Rise News, Jamie Rowen, an international law expert and professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, suggested that Trump and members of his political circle could be preparing contingency plans to avoid prosecution should they lose power.
She believes a Trump escape plan could mirror that of Flavio Bolsonaro, who fled Brazil for the US after losing the election to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva last month. After leaving the country for the US, Bolsonaro shared on social media, alleging without offering evidence that he has been the victim of “electoral fraud”. He also referred to himself as “leader of Brazil.” He left Brazil without surrendering his passports to police, in breach of a Supreme Court order issued as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering.
Speaking to journalist Adam Klasfeld of All Rise News, Jamie Rowen said: “You can imagine that if he [Donald Trump] loses an election that he thinks was rigged, even if it very clearly wasn’t, and he loses by a sizeable margin…that he too might face some type of criminal investigation for all of the crimes that he is currently committing.”
One obvious possibility for Trump’s escape would be to run to Russia, Rowen added, saying he “will have colluded with, say, Putin to figure out a way to escape to that country”.
She said: “That’s all I can keep thinking. They are laying a plan for all of them, no matter what the consequences in their countries are, to flee to other dictatorships that support them.”
The international law expert called Bolsonaro’s actions “shameful.”
She highlighted reports that Brazilian and Argentine border authorities had no record of him crossing between the two countries alleging they must have been paid off. She also raised questions about reports that he travelled using an Italian passport after surrendering his Brazilian passport.
Ms Rowen also urged those listening to understanding “how many people didn’t do their jobs so that Flavio Bolsonaro could escape.”
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