Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) criticized the Manhattan silence case on Friday, calling it “absurd,” just one day after former President Trump was convicted at trial.
“”This should never have been brought to trial. That was absurd,” Huckabee said. counted NewsNation’s Leland Vittert. “More people have noticed this.”
“The jurors were prevented from obtaining much of the information that many of us can follow. They don’t understand, so I’m going to cut them some slack,” he continued. “But the American people realized that, and that’s why you saw this fundraising bonanza for the Trump campaign.”
Asked what he thinks would happen if New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) pardoned the former president, Huckabee said it would show grace on her part, but added, “I don’t think she’ll ever do that.”
His comments came after Trump was found guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records in relation to a secret payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the early days of the 2016 election to buy her silence about an alleged past affair. , which he denies.
The former president protested his conviction on Friday morning during a press conference in the lobby of Trump Tower in Manhattan, where he claimed the trial was “rigged” while portraying himself as “honored” to have gone through the process. as the first President of the USA will be a convicted criminal.
Trump’s campaign announced Friday that he has raised more than $52 million since his conviction — a day after breaking his campaign’s single-day record for total donations from small donors.
“President Trump and our campaign are immensely grateful for this outpouring of support from patriots across our country. President Trump is fighting to save our nation and November 5th is the day Americans will deliver the true verdict,” said two campaign advisers.
When pressed about what would happen if Trump were sentenced to prison, the former governor repeated that it would be “absurd” for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the case against Trump, to arrest a former president for what they allege is ” an accounting crime.”
Huckabee added, “So if he, honestly to God, thought he could put a former president [in jail] on this ridiculous accounting issue, which I don’t even think is an existing crime, if he actually tried to do this, the last person to leave New York, please turn off the lights.
Trump’s conviction does not bar him from running for president, but it could lead to uncharted waters as the November elections are just a few months away.
Judge Juan Merchan set his sentencing hearing for July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention, where the former president will become the official Republican Party nominee against President Biden.
NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
