Trump suggests there could be a ‘breaking point’ for the public if he is imprisoned after hush money conviction
Former President Donald Trump on Sunday said he thinks there would be a âbreaking pointâ for the public if he is sentenced to house arrest or imprisonment after he was found guilty on all counts in the criminal hush money trial against him.
In clips of a 90-minute interview with âFox and Friends Weekendâ that aired Sunday, Trump was asked about the possibility of Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the case, sentencing him to house arrest or jail. Trump is set to be sentenced on all 34 felony counts in New York on July 11 â just days before the Republican National Convention.
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said he is âokay with itâ and acknowledged that âit could happen,â but warned that it could be “tough” for the public.
âI donât know that the public would stand it, you know, I donât, Iâm not sure the public would stand for it,” Trump said. “I think it would be tough for the public to take, you know, at a certain point, thereâs a breaking point.â
In the wake of Trumpâs conviction in the hush money trial, Trump supporters have issued violent threats targeting Merchan and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in a series of posts on the same websites used by Trump supporters to coordinate ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack, NBC News reported. A message board known to be used by Trump supporters also sought to publicly release the addresses of jurors in the case.
The former president’s comments come just days after he was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business documents by a Manhattan jury.
Trumpâs conviction on the counts is classified as a class E felony â a crime that is punishable by a fine, probation or up to four years in prison per count. But some experts told NBC News that they think itâs unlikely the former president will face time behind bars because of his age, the lack of a criminal record and other reasons.
Since the end of the trial, Trump has maintained that the proceedings were “rigged.” Speaking to reporters and supporters at Trump Tower on Friday, the former president said, âThis is a scam. Thereâs a rigged trial. It shouldnât have been in that venue. We shouldnât have had that judge.â
He added, “This is all done by [President Joe] Biden and his people. This is done by Washington. No one has ever seen anything like this.â
At the Trump Tower event, he also promised to appeal the jury’s verdict, saying, “Weâre going to be appealing this scam. Weâre going to be appealing it on many different things.”
After blaming Biden and Democrats for his conviction and the trial, Biden also made remarks Friday, telling reporters at the White House, âItâs reckless, itâs dangerous, itâs irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they donât like the verdict.”
In the interview with “Fox and Friends Weekend,” Trump said he is not allowed to talk about the hush money case, referring to the partial gag order that Merchan imposed in the New York case earlier this year, and repeated his claims without evidence that it’s part of an effort led by the Biden White House to interfere with his election prospects.
“I guess the first presidential nominee and the leader, leading crooked Joe (Biden) by a lot, thatâs not allowed to talk, maybe theyâre doing me a big favor. Who knows?” he said. “But Iâm not allowed to talk â Iâm gagged.”
The order barred Trump from speaking about court staff, potential jurors and potential witnesses.
During the trial, Merchan fined Trump thousands of dollars for violating the order multiple times and warned that he could be imprisoned for violating it.