"Of course, she won't go," according to Le Pen's lead attorney, Marcel Ceccaldi. Le Pen's chief of staff was detained by police on February 22 as part of a formal investigation that Catherine Grist, the chief of staff, and Le Pen's lead security detail, Theirty Legier, had received improper payment originating from EU coffers. Le Pen's campaign promptly fired back that the foul-play with EU money was a "manipulation" play by Le Pen's political enemies designed to throw her off track. A host of polls show the National Front candidate winning the first of France's two-tiered presidential election. Le Pen has denied the accusations outright. "The French can tell the difference between genuine scandals and political dirty-tricks," Le Pen said.
Le Pen is also being investigated for publishing graphic images of Daesh executions in December 2015 which featured the beheading of Chicago-native journalist James Foley.
On Thursday, the EU formally removed Le Pen's immunity status for "publishing violent images" of Daesh terrorists on Twitter. Loss of parliamentary immunity entails that Le Pen cannot face trail by prosecutors. Without immunity, prosecutors have the power to bring Le Pen in for questioning by police and investigators. Le Pen's case featuring accusations of publishing violent images could be dropped by prosecutors, have an a special judge appointed to preside over the specifics of the case, or expedite it to trial. A trial date before French elections in April and May would be considered extremely fast for the French legal system.
Under the "violent images" allegations, Le Pen could face up to three years in jail and a fine of 75,000 euros if convicted.
