Something to remember: Back when they were first discussing the possibility for jail time, he himself said (according to sources) to friends that he'd rather die than go to prison.
HE thinks there's a possibility that he'll do time. If he were sure that his status as a Demonrat would keep him OUT of jail, I'd expect his attitude to be a lot different.
I think he's scared.
I can just see the scene in “The Shawshank Redemption” being played out. You know, the one where the police come to Shawshank to arrest the warden and what the warden did to prevent that from happening.