Trump’s lack of remorse and disrespect for the judge could put him in jail, top lawyers reveal

Donald Trump could face a prison sentence due to his lack of remorse and disrespect towards the court, top lawyers told DailyMail.com.

The former president’s “tough guy” routine may play well with his supporters, but the judge in his hush-money case could use it to send him to prison, New York criminal defense attorney Mark Bederow said.

Trump called Judge Juan Merchan a “devil” during a press conference on Friday, in which he delved into the case, which he said was “rigged.”

Merchan could see Trump’s disrespect as an “aggravating factor,” said Bederow, who personally thought prison would be a “mistake”

If the judge chooses to grant Trump community service, he could force him to fund a soup kitchen or a senior center, said high-profile attorney Arthur Aidala.

Aidala, who in April won a shocking appeal against 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 reeling from his conviction on all 34 counts of falsifying corporate records in connection with a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

He will be sentenced on July 11 in Manhattan Criminal Court, where he was required to sit every day during the six-week trial.

Bederow said Merchan will have to weigh Trump’s lack of criminal history, the fact that he is 77 years old and the crimes for which he was convicted as the lowest possible, or Class E.

In the coming weeks, Trump will have to submit to a “humiliating” report in which he will be asked about his personal and employment history and whether he has used drugs.

Bederow said, “In any arraignment, the most important part is: Does the defendant take responsibility?

“In a normal case and they say I didn’t do it, the prosecutor will notice that and urge the judge to take it into consideration.

‘But if a probation officer says to Trump, can you explain how you react to what happened or did you do this, then the probation officer will have to put on earplugs and take a step back while Trump will say this is b*** ** *. That is an aggravating circumstance and the judge will see that.”

According to Bederow, Trump’s “constant ranting and ranting,” as the judge calls “corrupt,” could result in the sentence being reduced to a prison sentence.

He said: “If you put aside the fact that this is Donald Trump, no one would say it’s a good idea for a suspect who could potentially face jail time to go around accusing the judge of being corrupt.

“The judge should not weigh these comments in terms of personal revenge, but it would be entirely appropriate to view them in terms of Trump’s disrespect for the system, turning the proceedings into a circus, showing no respect for the court, and unmask jurors. on things they shouldn’t do.

‘People often get credit for admitting their wrongdoing. Trump will not beg for mercy.

“He has a political problem: he has to look politically strong and challenging, but that could be a problem in court.”

Bederow said it was “not realistic” that Trump would be forced to sweep the subway, like some defendants, if given community service.

Nor would Trump be forced to mop the garage of the New York City Sanitation Department, as Naomi Campbell did in 2007 after throwing a cell phone at her maid.

Bederow said, “Think of the logistics and the gawking and the people showing 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 hardest part will be figuring out what the possible punishment would be.

“I think community service is the best way to put it, but I’m not recommending that Donald Trump clean up the subway.

“Merchan has a reputation for tough sentencing, but he has made it known during the contempt cases that he does not want Trump in jail.

“He’s going to ask for statistics on the average sentence for people with no criminal record convicted of Class E felonies.

“The average will be a no-jail sentence.

‘If Merchan were to impose a prison sentence on him, it would be an impossible task’

Aidala has said that Trump had “done a lot of things to help New York,” such as the Wollman Ice Rink in Central Park.

He said: ‘I wouldn’t be so quick to write him off because of his ability to help. If Judge Merchan is thinking about real community service, he could have him fund a soup kitchen or a senior center.

“From what I could see, let him be involved in something like that.”

Bederow said it would be a “mistake” to send Trump to prison.

He said: ‘It will be interesting what the prosecutor recommends – they will probably recommend incarceration.

“I don’t know whether locking up a 77-year-old man who happens to be a former president, literally right now, or locking him up for essentially paying an adult film actress to keep her mouth shut when she tried to rip him off pressing requires confinement’.

Trump’s lawyers have said they will appeal the verdict, and Aidala said the first point they make should be that the case should never have been brought in the first place.

Judge Merchan should have instructed the jury to be unanimous on the underlying crime of falsifying company records, Aidala said.

The judge gave the jury three options: campaign finance law, tax crimes and election fraud, but said they didn’t have to agree on which one.

Aidala said that because the case was brought in an unprecedented manner using untested case law, it should have been held to a higher standard.

Trump has less chance of his appeal succeeding at the appeals court in Manhattan, where he will first have to appeal, because Weinstein’s verdict was upheld there in a 5-0 ruling.

But in the next court, the New York Appeal Court, Aidala had more hope, as that was the court that overturned Weinstein’s conviction.

Aidala said: “They are in a better position to look at the integrity of the charging document

“I challenge the beginning of the whole thing, how did this start?

“I think the court can look at this and say there’s something wrong here, something doesn’t smell right.”