• Former President Trump faces a range of legal liabilities, including charges of falsifying business records, election fraud, mishandling national security documents, and subverting the 2020 election.
• The Manhattan charges, related to falsifying business records, are seen as less threatening but may be the first case to go to trial. The Georgia charges, involving election fraud, are significant as they could not be pardoned at the federal level.
• The case of national security documents highlights the mishandling of classified information and the efforts to hide them. The 2020 election subversion case raises constitutional questions about the prosecution of a former president.
• The likelihood of conviction varies across the cases, with higher chances in the Manhattan and Georgia charges and lower chances in the Florida case. The role of Chief Prosecutor Jack Smith and the independence of the Department of Justice are also discussed.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Overview

01:15 Manhattan Charges: Falsifying Business Records

04:56 Importance of State-Level Charges

08:11 Billionaire Defense and Questionable Accounting Practices

10:33 Georgia Charges: Election Fraud

18:28 Introduction to Chief Prosecutor Jack Smith

24:41 National Security Documents Case

33:30 2020 Election Subversion Case

42:01 Likelihood of Conviction and Prison Time

ABOUT MASTERING THE ROOM

Mastering the Room is produced by the George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management and hosted by political analyst and professor Casey Burgat. In less time than the average D.C. morning commute, you'll get an inside take on today’s issues with information and perspectives you won’t get anywhere else.

MTR challenges guests to go beyond the Sunday show talking points and offer a deeper understanding of polarizing topics, discussing ideas that few have heard before.

Whether you agree with them or not, you’ll see unique arguments from surprising new angles. Packed with influencers, experts, and familiar names in DC and beyond, Mastering the Room is a podcast with access, connections, and proximity to power. 

To listen to vintage episodes from the original Mastering the Room podcast, click here.

ABOUT CASEY BURGAT

Mastering the Room host, Casey Burgat, is the Director of the Legislative Affairs program at the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management. 

Before joining GSPM, Dr. Burgat was a Senior Governance Fellow at the R Street Institute where his research focused on issues of Congressional capacity and reform. Mr. Burgat is known for his regular contributions to scholarly and journalistic publications, including CNN, the Washington Post, and Politico, and has appeared on various television and radio outlets. 

Dr. Burgat is the author of the 2025 Amazon best-seller  We Hold These "Truths," exploring society's myths and misconceptions about how government works (published by Authors Equity). He's also co-authored Congress Explained: Representation and Lawmaking in the First Branch, a textbook on all things Congress, published by Sage/CQ Press in the fall of 2022.