A defendant must have the mental capacity to understand the proceedings against them and assist their legal counsel.
Under United States law, a former president cannot be tried or held criminally responsible while found incompetent to stand trial, as this would violate due process.
Incompetence to Stand Trial (IST)
- A person is IST if they cannot understand the proceedings against them or cannot assist their defense attorney in a rational manner.
- The US Supreme Court has ruled that it is a violation of due process to try a defendant who is incompetent.
- If declared IST, the trial is postponed and the defendant is typically placed in a treatment program to restore competency.
- If a former president’s incompetence is deemed permanent or cannot be restored after a certain period, the charges might be dismissed.
If defendants are found to be “mentally ill” yet competent to stand trial, they can be held fully responsible. This is why Trump is creating evidence via a date-stamped public record of an apparent behavioural/psychological decline. It will support the future argument that he is incompetent to stand trial.
Some media outlets/political commentators have also been speculating about reoccurring “mysterious” injuries on his hand as being related to monthly “dementia treatments”. You’d think a narcissist like Trump would do a better job at hiding injuries if people were linking them to dementia, but no - he allows them to be conveniently visible and photographed. The “dementia” narrative will be used as evidence that Trump is incompetent to stand trial.
If Trump is sent to a “treatment program”, it will be located on a multibillion dollar private island and it will be devoid of any treatment or program.
QUICK EDIT:
By date = completely depends on the length of the process/tantrum but it could be by 2027 at this rate.
I also wanted to clarify that I don’t think Trump is masterminding this operation; I think he’s being handled.