Legal expert Jonathan Turley said Monday it would be “unreasonable” for former President Trump to be convicted of a felony and sentenced to prison, and predicted he would likely receive a lighter sentence.
Earlier this month, Trump was convicted on 34 counts of forgery of business documents for allegedly concealing past affairs and illegally concealing hush money paid to influence the 2016 election.
The sentencing is scheduled for July 11, four days before the start of the Republican National Convention. He is appealing his conviction, but the sentencing will take place as scheduled. The former president could face up to four years in prison, but Turley argued that’s unlikely.
“[Trump] “It was a total set-up from the perspective of a lot of people, the jury and the judge. I think people have a certain idea of what Trump is like. You either love him or you hate him,” Turley said in an interview with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto. “I’ve never met anyone in between those two camps, so I don’t think it’s going to change things very much here.”
“But sending him to prison is ridiculous,” he continued. “He’s a first-time offender, an elderly man, it’s a non-violent offense and it’s a very controversial charge. This case could ultimately be overturned on appeal. I think it would be pretty insane for Judge Marchan to send him to prison for even one day.”
Trump had a probation interview with his probation officer early Monday morning, as per standard procedure, although the court made an exception for the former president and allowed him to appear online.
Turley added that he believes Judge Juan Marchan’s ruling was somewhat biased in favor of the prosecution and that he wouldn’t be surprised by the verdict.
“The pressure is great. When the verdict was handed down and they came out of the courtroom, it was like a Roman Games. People were so still it was hard to watch,” Turley said. “People were dancing in the street. That’s the environment around this courthouse.”
“And there were people in deep pain and grief,” he continued. “It was a picture of America, but not necessarily a good picture. I just stood there for a moment, gazing at the scene, because it was such a strange and polarized picture.”
