While the prosecution’s star witness, Michael Cohen, may have been selling T-shirts depicting his former boss in jail during the trial, it’s unlikely former President Donald Trump will actually go to jail, though given the judge’s past rulings a prison sentence wouldn’t be surprising.
In New York state, falsifying business records carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison. Trump was convicted, but his fate now rests in the hands of a judge he has relentlessly accused of bias. Legal experts who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation did not rule out the possibility that Judge Juan Marchan could sentence the former president to prison.
“While I don’t think prison time is likely, I can’t rule out the possibility that Judge Marchan will order at least some prison time,” criminal lawyer and legal analyst Philip Holloway told DCNF. “Judge Marchan has made it clear he is a far-left, anti-Trump zealot, and he would like nothing more than to be remembered in the history books as the judge who ‘got Trump.'”
Judge Marchan issued a series of rulings against the defense, including issuing jury instructions that said jurors did not have to agree on what “illegal” means Trump allegedly used to try to influence the 2016 election. Prosecutors argued that Trump falsified the record to do so. Marchan also issued a gag order barring Trump from talking about witnesses such as Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels, who frequently attacked Trump in the media.
Trump’s sentencing is scheduled for July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“With a suspended sentence being the most likely sentence, the question becomes what conditions Mr. Marchan will impose on Mr. Trump,” Holloway continued. “He could impose severe restrictions on Mr. Trump’s ability to travel and keep him away from campaigning, which is what they have been aiming for all along.”
Marchant had already warned that he would face prison time after learning that Trump had violated the gag order for the 10th time, saying fines appeared to be ineffective. (Related story: Left-wing district attorney, Biden Justice Department alum secures Trump conviction in Biden donor blue district court)
“You’re the former president and possibly the next president of the United States,” Marchand mused, emphasizing the “gravitas” of the decision. He said he worried about the court officials and Secret Service agents who would have to “enforce” the sanctions.
“But at the end of the day, I have a job to do,” Marchant told Trump.
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 31, 2024: Former US President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower in New York City on May 31, 2024. (Photo by James Devaney/GC Images)
Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche Said He argued on the Today Show on Friday that his client should not go to prison.
“Under the court guidelines and rules and normal circumstances, President Trump would not be going to jail,” Blanche said. “Setting aside the fact that he was the president of the United States, these are the acts of a 7, 8, 9-year-old. He’s a grandfather, he’s a husband, he’s a father. He shouldn’t be going to jail.”
According to ABC News, the Secret Service began planning in April what to do if Trump were to be detained for a short period of time. report He cited officials familiar with the situation at the time.
“Given the way Marchan has conducted this case, his implied orders, and his complete refusal to comply with the law and recuse himself (not to mention dismiss the completely unconstitutional charges), I believe he harbors such strong animosity toward Trump that I would not be at all surprised if he orders some sort of restraint, whether that be prison or house arrest,” former federal prosecutor Francie Hakes told the DCNF.
“Judge Marchan is going to have a hard time imposing a sentence,” said Arthur Aidala, a New York criminal defense lawyer. Said In an interview with ABC News on Thursday, he noted that he doesn’t expect to go to prison: “I think he should come up with some form of community service to make Manhattan a better place.”
Columbia Law School professor John Coffee also Said CBS reported that defendants of Trump’s age would typically “face no prison time” because they are “first-time offenders, have committed non-violent crimes and have otherwise good records”.
“But it may be the view of many judges that we have to show that no one is above the law and that even a future president should have prison experience,” he told media.
However, if Trump appeals, the sentence could be extended. Intended That’s scheduled for Friday. Most legal experts who spoke with the DCNF feel Trump’s conviction will ultimately be overturned. (Related: Trump’s legal team may have taken some false steps, but Judge Marchan doomed them from the start. Here’s why.)
The appeal could raise a range of issues, from the Democratic district attorney in Alvin’s shaky legal theory aimed at enforcing federal campaign finance laws, to instructions that did not require jurors to agree on the “illegal” ways Trump allegedly influenced the election, to Marchand’s decision to allow “prejudicial” testimony from porn actress Stormy Daniels. Before Thursday’s ruling, Trump lawyer Will Scharf raised the possibility of a malicious prosecution lawsuit against Bragg.
“If this case goes that far, I have no doubt that a federal court will address the federal constitutional issues and overturn this stupid decision,” Hakes told the DCNF. “The New York appeals court should do its job and overturn the decision, but New York leans heavily Democratic and I’m not sure it can withstand the political pressure to not let Trump win.”
only One Of the 21 judges on the New York Supreme Court’s First Appellate Division that Trump will initially appeal to, one is a Republican appointee, while the other 20 were all appointed by Democratic governors.
“Unfortunately for the country, the outcome of the appeal will likely not be immediate,” Hakes told the DCNF. “This is a sad day for American justice.”
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