Could Trump go to prison

Now that a Manhattan jury has convicted Donald Trump on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the hush-money case, the immediate next question is:

what punishment should the former US president receive?

The crimes Trump has been found guilty of, falsifying business records in the first degree, are class E felonies in New York, the least serious category, and punishable by up to four years in prison. His sentencing is set for 11 July.

But Trump is unlikely to be sentenced to prison, experts say. He is a first-time offender, and the crime he has been found guilty of is a non-violent paper crime.

Many think a term of incarceration would be logistically very difficult and also would have political implications that Judge Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing the case, would want to avoid.

“Mr Trump, it’s important to understand that the last thing I want to do is to put you in jail. You are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president, as well,”

Merchan said on 6 May, when he issued a $1.000 fine holding Trump in contempt of court for the 10th time. He went on to explain why putting Trump in jail at that time was

“truly a last resort for me … I also worry about the people who would have to execute that sanction: the court officers, the correction officers, the Secret Service detail, among others. I worry about them and about what would go into executing such a sanction.”

“Of course, I’m also aware of the broader implications of such a sanction. The magnitude of such a decision is not one-sided. But, at the end of the day, I have a job to do, and part of that job is to protect the dignity of the judicial system and compel respect,”

he added.

Eric Holder, who served as Barack Obama’s attorney general, spoke out briefly late on Thursday night:

“The rule of law was vindicated today,”

he said, adding,

“and no one can be above the law.”

Although he did not mention Trump or the case, the reference was obvious to the hundreds of lawyers, advocates and their guests at the gala in Manhattan, who cheered and gave Holder a standing ovation.

Stormy Daniels’s husband, Barrett Blade, told CNN on Thursday night that the verdict was a

“big weight off her shoulders”,

and that she was still digesting the outcome of the trial but felt a little vindicated.

Michael Tyler, the Biden campaign communications director, said:

“No one is above the law. Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain.”

Find to read:

Preceding

For the first time in U.S. history a former president found guilty of inadmissible offences

Additional reading

Published by Guestspeaker

A joint effort of several authors who do find that nobody can keep standing at the side and that “Everyone" must care about what is going on in today’s world. We are a bunch of people who do not mind that somebody has a totally different idea but is willing to share the ideas with others and to be Active and willing to let others understand how "today’s decisions will influence the future”. Therefore we would love to see many others to "Act today". View more posts