Donald Trump could end up with a jail sentence due to his lack of remorse and disrespect for the court, top criminal lawyers told DailyMail.com.
The former president’s “tough guy” routine may go down well with his supporters, but the judge in his hush money case could use it to justify sending him to prison, said New York criminal lawyer Mark Bederow.
Trump called Judge Juan Merchán a “devil” during a press conference Friday, addressing the case he claimed was “rigged.”
Merchan could see Trump’s disrespect as an “aggravating factor,” said Bederow, who personally thought jail would be a “mistake.”
Donald Trump could end up with a jail sentence due to his lack of remorse and disrespect for the court, top criminal lawyers told DailyMail.com.
If the judge decides to provide Trump with community service, he could force him to fund a soup kitchen or a senior center, said prominent lawyer Arthur Aidala.
Aidala, who in April won a surprising appeal of Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 sex crimes conviction in New York, said Trump had a good chance of having the verdict overturned, but only in a higher appeals court.
Trump is still recovering from being convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records for a $130,000 hush payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
He will be sentenced July 11 in Manhattan Criminal Court, where he was forced to sit every day during the six-week trial.
Bederow said Merchan will have to weigh Trump’s lack of a criminal record, the fact that he is 77 years old and that the felonies he was convicted of are the lowest possible, or class E, felonies.
In the coming weeks, Trump will have to undergo a “humiliating” pre-sentence report where he will be asked about his personal and work history and whether he has used drugs.
Bederow said: ‘In every pre-sentence report, the important part is whether the defendant takes responsibility.
‘In a normal case and they say I didn’t do it, the district attorney will notice it and urge the judge to consider it.
“But here, if a parole officer tells Trump, can he explain how he reacted to what happened or if he did this? The parole officer will have to put on earplugs and back away 10 feet while Trump will say this is shit.” *. That is an aggravating circumstance and the judge will see it.”
According to Bederow, Trump’s “constant rantings and rantings,” such as calling the judge “corrupt,” could tip the sentence toward a prison term.
He said: “Putting aside the fact that this is Donald Trump, no one would say it’s a good idea for a defendant potentially facing a prison sentence to go around accusing the judge of being corrupt.”
“The judge should not weigh those comments in the sense of personal vendetta, but it would be entirely appropriate to consider them in terms of Trump’s respect for the system, making the proceedings a circus, showing no respect for the court, leaving jurors exposed.” to things they shouldn’t do.
The former president’s “tough guy” routine may go down well with his supporters, but the judge in his hush money case could use it to justify sending him to prison, said New York criminal lawyer Mark Bederow.
‘Many times people get credit when they acknowledge their bad actions. Trump is not going to beg for mercy.
“He has a political problem: he needs to appear strong and politically defiant, but that could be a problem in the courtroom.”
Bederow said it was “unrealistic” that Trump would be forced to sweep the subway like some defendants if they were given community service.
Trump also wouldn’t be forced to clean out the New York City Department of Sanitation garage like Naomi Campbell did in 2007 after throwing a cell phone at her maid.
Bederow said: ‘Think about the logistics, the gawking and the people turning up to take pictures. “I just don’t think that’s realistic.”
But Aidala said the judge could find something appropriate if he opts for community service.
He said: ‘The most difficult part will be determining what the possible sentence would be.
“I think community service is the best way to put it, but I don’t recommend that Donald Trump go clean the subway.
‘Merchan is known for being a tough sentencing judge, but during the contempt matters he went on record saying he doesn’t want Trump in jail.
‘You’re going to ask for statistics on the average sentence for people with no criminal records sentenced for class E felonies.
‘The average will be a sentence without jail.
‘For Merchan, giving him a prison sentence would be something out of the ordinary’
Trump called Judge Juan Merchán a “devil” during a press conference Friday, addressing the case he claimed was “rigged.”
Aidala has said that Trump had done “a lot of things to help New York,” such as the Wollman ice skating rink in Central Park.
He said: “I wouldn’t be quick to rule him out in terms of his ability to help.” If Judge Merchan is thinking about true community service, he could ask you to fund a soup kitchen or senior center.
‘I could see that, that he was involved in something like that.’
Bederow said it would be a “mistake” to send Trump to jail.
He said, “It will be interesting what the DA recommends: They will probably recommend incarceration.”
“I don’t know whether imprisoning a 77-year-old man who happens to be a former president, literally right now, whether imprisoning him for, in essence, paying an adult film actress to keep her mouth shut when she tried to blackmail him requires incarceration.” .
Trump’s lawyers have said they will appeal the verdict, and Aidala said the first point they should make should be that the case should never have been brought.
Trump will be sentenced on July 11 in Manhattan Criminal Court, where he was forced to sit every day during the six-week trial.
Judge Merchan should have ordered the jury to be unanimous on the underlying crime of falsifying business records, Aidala said.
The judge gave the jury three options: campaign finance laws, tax crimes and voter fraud, but said they did not have to agree on which.
Aidala said that because the case was brought in an unprecedented manner using unproven case law, it should have been held to a higher standard.
Trump has the least chance of his appeal being successful in the Manhattan appeals court, where he will have to appeal first, since that is where Weinstein’s verdict was upheld with a 5-0 ruling.
But in the next court, the New York Court of Appeals, Aidala had more hope, since that was the court that overturned Weinstein’s conviction.
Aidala said: “They are in a better position to examine the integrity of the charging document.”
‘I’m questioning the start of the whole thing, how did this start?
“I think the appeals court can look at this and say something here doesn’t seem right, something doesn’t smell right.”
