Trump’s statement at his sentencing makes it clear he will commit more crimes
Trump is career criminal
Donald Trump should not be heading to the White House. He should be reporting to prison.
We all know that. And I sincerely believe New York Justice Juan Merchan who just sentenced Trump on Friday to an “unconditional discharge” believes that as well. This a judge who has in the past sentenced countless people yet I doubt he has ever heard a defendant convicted of 34 felonies tell the court before sentencing that he not only has no remorse for his crimes but he views the entire case a partisan witch hunt designed to hurt him politically.
Taking a brief step back, Trump’s New York criminal case was never about “hush money” as the corporate media reported it. Rather, as Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg announced from the start of the case, this was always an “election corruption” case. The crux was Trump “conspiring to corrupt a presidential election and then lying in New York business records to cover it up,” as Bragg explained.
Thus, Trump was charged with 34 felonies. And a Manhattan jury--after hearing the evidence presented and considering the arguments made by Trump through his lawyer--convicted Trump unanimously on all counts finding he committed the charged crimes beyond a reasonable doubt.
Trump’s crimes went to that very heart of our democracy. He cheated to win the 2016 presidential election.
Indeed, as Justice Merchan highlighted last week in his order rejecting Trump’s motion to vacate his conviction, the jury found Trump falsified business records with the “intent to defraud, which included an intent to commit or conceal a conspiracy to promote a presidential election by unlawful means.” He added, “It was the premediated and continuous deception by the leader of the free world that is the gravamen of this offense.”
As we all know, there are various factors considered by the court in deciding on a criminal sentence—such as prior convictions, seriousness of the offense, etc. Another key factor judges look at is the defendant’s remorse. As criminal justice experts note, a remorseful person is saying to the court the person has “seen the error of their ways and really want to change their character.” Given the criminal justice system is predicated on the idea of not just punishment but deterrence, a truly remorseful person indicates to the court that the defendant likely won’t engage in the same criminal conduct or other criminal actions in the future.
But Trump has showed none of that. Indeed, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass emphasized that very point Friday to Justice Merchan before sentencing. Steinglass explained, "Far from expressing any kind of remorse for his criminal conduct, the defendant has purposefully bred disdain for our judicial institutions and the rule of law, and he's done this to serve his own ends.”
And when Trump choose to address the court, he backed up Steinglass’s point. Instead of showing contrition, Trump declared the entire case was “a political witch hunt,” adding, “It was done to damage my reputation so that I would lose the election, and obviously, that didn’t work." The convicted felon then criticized the prosecutor for bringing the case and even the judge for not allowing certain evidence he wanted to introduce. Trump continued on to say, "I'm totally innocent," adding, "I did nothing wrong." Finally, he wrapped up his rant by calling the case “a weaponization of government” and “an embarrassment to New York.”
For bad measure, Trump posted on social media shortly after the sentencing more attacks on the case—including slamming the prosecutor for “bringing completely baseless, illegal, and fake charges.”
Trump is telling you he believes he did nothing wrong despite being convicted by a jury of 34 felonies for election corruption. He is also telling you he will commit more crimes in the future. And Merchan knows that.
Trump’s utter contempt for the jury’s verdict, the criminal justice system and the rule of law demanded he be sentenced to prison. That was the only way to deter future crimes by Trump. In fact, former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner earlier this week explained to me that Trump should rightfully be sentenced in New York for “one year or 18 months in prison.” Kirschner noted, how can you “give no punishment to somebody who violates New York State law felonies 34 times over to cheat in the Presidential election.”
The truth is that you will not find another case where a person was convicted of 34 felonies and received zero punishment! But given the prosecutor recommended an unconditional discharge, Justice Merchan followed their lead, noting the “unique and remarkable set of circumstances” of Trump being a president-elect. However, Merchan, refused to give Trump everything what he wanted and that was to “erase” the jury verdict. As Merchan noted, despite Trump being the president-elect, that does “not reduce the seriousness of the crime or justify its commission in any way.”
Nothing will. Trump is a convicted felon. A man who committed crimes to win the 2016 election and committed crimes again to remain in power after the 2020 election—for which he was charged in federal and state court.
However, Trump will not be heading to prison. He will be sworn in as President of the United States on January 20. And from there he will commit even more crimes. That is what people like Trump do who have been told by our system that they are above the law.
Below is my full interview former federal prosecutor and current MSNBC legal analyst Glenn Kirschner from earlier in the week where we discuss the lasting impact of Trump not being held accountable and more:
I don't know who the leader of the free world is anymore, but it's not the US.
He must commit several crimes a day. He doesn't know how to do things the legal way. However, since we seem to have no other recourse at the moment, I suggest that we mock him relentlessly. That he will not like.