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Thursday, May 30, 2024

If convicted, would Trump go to prison? It’s not out of the question.


POLITICO


If convicted, would Trump go to prison? It’s not out of the question.

Sending Trump to prison would be an extraordinary punishment, but some experts think it could be in play.



The case, in which former President Donald Trump is accused of falsifying business documents to conceal a payoff to a porn star, is unlike any other. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images


By BETSY WOODRUFF SWAN

05/28/2024 09:30 AM EDT


As former President Donald Trump’s first — and, perhaps, only — criminal trial crawls to a conclusion, conventional wisdom holds that even if he’s convicted, he’s unlikely to do prison time. After all, the charges he faces are among New York’s mildest felonies, and if found guilty he would be a first-time offender.

Don’t be so sure, according to former prosecutors from the office now charging him.

The case, in which Trump is accused of falsifying business documents to conceal a payoff to a porn star, is unlike any other. So it’s hard to predict how Justice Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the trial, would handle any sentencing.

“This is not a one-off, ‘Oops, I made a mistake on my business records,’ or even, a one-off scheme,” said Diana Florence, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office who ran for the DA’s job in 2021 but lost to Alvin Bragg, the lead prosecutor in the Trump case.

Bragg, a Democrat, has alleged that the payoff to Stormy Daniels, who claimed she had a sexual encounter with Trump, was just one part of a wide-ranging effort to bury potentially damaging stories about Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign.

“Given the entirety of the facts and circumstances that came out during the trial, I believe if convicted, a sentence of incarceration is warranted and justified,” Florence said.

“If I were the prosecutor, I would absolutely be asking for state prison,” she added.

The maximum sentence for the crime Trump is charged with — felony-level falsifying business records — is four years in prison. He is charged with 34 separate counts. If convicted of all of them and sentenced to prison, the prison terms for each count would almost certainly run concurrently.

Merchan, however, would not be required to issue any prison time. He would have wide discretion to choose a lighter punishment, such as probation or a term of “conditional discharge.” A probation sentence would require Trump to check in regularly with a probation officer and abide by other rules. Conditional discharge would allow Trump to remain free without probation supervision, as long as he stayed out of trouble.



Given that Trump is famous for never saying sorry — even, in his own telling, to God — any expression of remorse seems unlikely. | Jamie Kelter Davis for POLITICO


Merchan could also order the former president to perform community service.

With closing arguments in the case beginning Tuesday morning, a verdict could come as soon as this week. But if the jury finds Trump guilty, Merchan would not sentence Trump immediately. He would schedule a separate sentencing hearing.

At that hearing, Merchan, like all judges weighing whether to impose a prison sentence, would weigh a variety of factors beyond the guilty verdict. They include: Has the offender committed any crimes before? Does he express remorse? Is he a danger to the community? Would his incarceration discourage others from committing the same crime?





Trump, of course, has no prior criminal convictions — even though he’s under indictments in three other cases and has been held in contempt twice during the trial for repeated violations of Merchan’s gag order. Given that he is famous for never saying sorry — even, in his own telling, to God — any expression of remorse seems unlikely.

As far as deterrence goes, Merchan may conclude it’s unlikely that future presidential candidates will face the temptation to secretly route six-figure payments to porn stars — but on the other hand, if he accepts the prosecution’s framing of the case as election interference, he may decide that deterring similar arrangements is critical to democracy. Any relevant determinations may be subjective.

Former Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Stuart Meissner said he thinks prison time is more likely than not.

“I think, knowing most judges in New York, they’re going to want to show that no one is above the law, and therefore he would likely sentence him to a term of incarceration,” he said. “I don’t think much, but I think it would be included just to show that point.”



8 comments:

  1. Is the legacy media reporting 34?

    ~~~~~

    https://x.com/TheQNewsPatriot/status/1796304065825001891?t=y45qvPfiRQS4fZjeKNi6Og&s=19

    Not even 1 hour after his conviction on 34 (17×2) felony counts for “financial crime”, President Donald Trump truths out a 35 second video discussing the “final battle“ for America.
    Qdrop 35 is a drop DJT (4, 10, 20) signed himself. It discusses POTUS being insulated on AF1, while cleanup operations occur both in DC and in the streets of America at home.

    Chris Miller is on record stating that the US military can be used for “domestic law-enforcement“, but, “not until civil society has broken down”.
    Does the disintegration of Law, Order, and Judicial Objectivity qualify?
    Is it one of the steppingstones on the pathway?
    Why did President Trump *very recently* state he will “use the military” to assist law-enforcement in “deportation operations”?

    All is not as it seems.
    Be slow to react, even slower to conclude.
    Observe, evaluate, analyze.
    Reflect.
    You are living through one of the greatest moments in American[world] history.
    #WWG1WGA #ForHumanity

    ReplyDelete
  2. What could AF1 mean? Air Force 1? Alternate Facility 1? ...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Coded message in response to evenþ? Look like you will have a field day selecting the current affairs to post...

    ~~~~~

    https://x.com/GeneralMCNews/status/1796261761789862241?t=NHsvPM4IFs02aEjAabBBKA&s=19

    BREAKING: Putin's residence in the Altai Republic is on fire.

    ReplyDelete
  4. We will find out on the following assertion. Won't be long to find validation.

    ~~~~~

    https://x.com/DC_Draino/status/1796290411297755265?t=6xpWUtTVDD-Xip9DQZ9Wsg&s=19

    May 30, 2024 - A day that will live in infamy

    The Marxists were hiding and infiltrating our government at all levels for decades

    Trump lifted up the rock and exposed them

    Now they’re openly lashing out in desperation to keep their control

    2024 is their last chance

    If Trump retakes power, it’s all over for them and they know it

    So they’ve weaponized their Marxist judges to imprison Trump b/c they know they fan’t beat him at the ballot box, even with all their fraud

    May God bless America as we enter a new era

    An era where We the People retake our country and severely punish those who tried to destroy it

    We will be victorious in the end

    ReplyDelete
  5. Meanwhile, Robert DeNiro, the actor was forced to act out his fear for the world to find out. There is a backstory to it, sure a reputable search engine will return fascinating details. Going to be familiar scene with many other public figures to come.

    ~~~~~

    https://t.me/professor_patriot_official/18387

    Robert De Niro Now Definitely One Of The Most Hated Celebrities

    Another video emerges of people confronting Robert De Niro shouting:

    “PAID SELLOUT FOR THE DNC, A PAID SELLOUT, YOU’RE A PAID SELLOUT”
    🇺🇸Join👉 @SGTnewsNetwork
    📎  Twitter  ▪️ Truth Social

    ReplyDelete
  6. ~~~~~

    https://t.me/professor_patriot_official/18460

    A gentle reminder

    ...

    ReplyDelete
  7. ~~~~~

    https://t.me/WeTheMedia/101396

    There are 24 sitting judges in NY county, and Merchan is an "acting" judge. He's not even on that list!

    They're assigned cases randomly, so it's STATISTICALLY IMPOSSIBLE that this judge was assigned to the Trump Organization case, the Hush money case & the Steve Bannon Case!👇

    h/t @MichelleRM68

    https://x.com/MichelleRM68/status/1796140639161143740

    ReplyDelete
  8. Q drop 34

    Detail in the image at the link below.

    ~~~~~

    https://t.me/WeTheMedia/101407

    Found guilty on all 34 counts.

    Drop 34 for your consideration.

    ReplyDelete