Former President Donald Trump continued to make unverified claims about his criminal trial a day after a New York jury convicted him of 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Trump has claimed that his trial was rigged even without an evidence
Speaking from an atrium at Trump Tower, Trump declared, “I’m the leading person for president and I’m under a gag order,” and used the occasion to raise questions about the mental fitness of his Democratic opponent, President Biden.
He repeated his claim that the judge who is hearing his case, Juan Merchan, was “highly conflicted.”
It was historic in that Trump became the first former or sitting president to be convicted of a crime. Despite the severity of the charges, legal experts have indicated to NPR that it is unlikely Trump will face imprisonment.
The ongoing legal battles and reactions to them underline the deep political and social schisms in the country.
The charges against Donald Trump, class A misdemeanors of falsifying business records to conceal another crime, could mean a maximum sentence of four years in prison. However, Trump could get off with as minimal a sentence as probation because it is very unlikely that an individual who committed a first-time offense of a nonviolent nature would be sent to prison.
Unless Trump actually serves prison time for his New York conviction, he likely would continue to be eligible to vote this fall. Trump said that he’s being unfairly targeted by this illegitimate New York court, that the process is “in total conjunction with the White House and the DOJ.” So far, there is no evidence of this.
That prosecution—of Trump—was by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, also under New York state law, and not aided by the White House or the Department of Justice.
These developments signal overwhelming legal and political challenges for the former president and how opinion remains sharply divided about his actions and their consequences.
