The Jan. 6 Committee has held probably its last public session.

It has subpoenaed former President Donald Trump but it is expected that he will never testify willingly before the committee.

A criminal referral to the Justice Department is highly possible. The charge could range from obstruction of justice to seditious conspiracy.

Naturally there are conversations about whether any grand jury will indict him on any of the charges stemming from any of his alleged crimes. The odds are that he will buy his way out of all the business and sex based charges with a fine or cash settlements. Indictments are likely to be unnecessary.

The election tampering case in Georgia is a state crime. The fake elector scheme is obstruction of justice, obstruction of a federal proceeding, fraud and sedition, all federal crimes.

Trying to prevent Joe Biden from becoming president by violence and plotting to stay in power despite the legal results of an election is seditious conspiracy, again, federal crimes.

It is possible a grand jury would indict on one or more charges, even if the conspirator is a former president. There is an argument that if the former president is indicted, he will be pardoned by President Biden to avoid the resulting turmoil.

Trump will not go quietly. He’ll throw a tantrum. He’ll yell he was cheated. He’ll call on his supporters to wreak havoc in state and federal offices. He’ll sue the grand jury members. If courts find him guilty, he’ll encourage people not to obey the courts’ decisions. The country will be further torn apart. Nobody but Trump wants that.

The man did what 44 other presidents refused to do. He tried to stay in power after he lost an election. He persuaded others to come up with schemes that would delay his departure and prevent Joe Biden from becoming president.

He put those schemes into practice. He sat and did nothing when at least one of them led to violence and an attack on the Capitol. His coup failed but the attempt should not go unpunished.

Putting Trump in jail would likely lead to more violence and more disruption. The pressure on Biden to pardon Trump in a deal to shut him up would be enormous. I have a better idea.

Exile.

Let me be clear. I am not suggesting trying him on boats moored outside Gitmo. I’m a bleeding heart liberal Democrat, I don’t believe in the military trying civilians when civilian courts are in operation. I don’t believe in secretly throwing people in jail. That’s a conservative thing.

I’m saying that if a jury finds Trump guilty of seditious conspiracy, the sentence should be exile from the United States.

Exile is a real thing. People have been exiled from Lowndes County and told not to come back. It can be a legal punishment. Just like in “The Man Without A Country” by Edward Everett Hale, Trump would be forbidden to set foot on U.S. soil again. Actually, forbidden to set foot on jurisdiction of U.S. states or District of Columbia for, say, 10 years.

Personally, I’d exile him to Puerto Rico for 10 years. They speak English there and have federal courts so he can continue his appeals. He’s a builder and could help rebuild the island after its periodic hurricanes. It’s got nice weather otherwise and I’m told is a beautiful place to live, like Florida.

Here are the rules. Removal from the U.S. is immediate on the guilty verdict coming down. No emergency health trips to the U.S. No compassionate trips home to see relatives. The ban is absolute.

Court appearances would be by Zoom. He can tape his rallies. He can write, twitter, tweet, phone, fax, video conference, whatever he likes to communicate with his minions at home. But he cannot come home for any reason.

I know what you’re thinking. What is to prevent him from plotting against the U.S. from Puerto Rico? Himself. Plot he might but he has proven that he doesn’t have the courage or the decisiveness to carry through a plot. He has all the leadership skills of Millard Fillmore. (Look him up.)

Let’s face it. If anyone reading this newspaper had wanted to overthrow the government and found ourselves in his shoes on Jan. 6, we could have done it better. Lots better. In fact, his ineptitude is likely to be his defense at his trial. Just wait and see.

What about his minions? Bannon, Eastman, Meadows? Won’t they try to restore him to power? Won’t the Proud Boys et. al. rally and march on D.C. for him?

The minions will be fighting their own court battles and with Trump in Puerto Rico, they’ll be trying to save themselves. As for the so-called militias – they’ll go back to playing army in the woods on Saturdays, if they’re not themselves locked up.

Former President Trump betrayed his oath of office. He betrayed the American people. His actions and inactions brought us to the brink of civil war. Jail is too good for him. He should be exiled.

Dr. Jane Elza, Ph.D., retired, is a resident of Valdosta.