Legal expert Jonathan Turley said Monday that it would be “absurd” if former President Trump were sentenced to prison for his conviction on felony charges, predicting that he would receive a lighter punishment instead.
Trump was convicted earlier this month of 34 counts of falsifying business documents in a case in which prosecutors argued he illegally covered up hush money payments made to hide a past affair and influence the 2016 election.
His sentencing is scheduled for July 11, four days before the start of the Republican National Convention. He appealed his conviction, although the sentence will continue as scheduled. The former president could face up to four years in prison, although Turley argued that is not likely.
“[Trump] It came completely baked, in the eyes of many people, jurors and judges. I think people have this idea of who Trump is. They either love him or hate him,” Turley said in a Fox News interview with Neil Cavuto. “I’ve never met anyone in between these two camps. And so, I don’t think the needle is going to move much here.”
“But it would also be absurd to send him to prison,” he continued. “He is an elderly first-time offender, a non-violent crime and a very controversial case. This entire case could ultimately be overturned on appeal. I think Judge Merchan would be considerably out of his depth to send him to a day in jail.”
Trump sat down for a parole interview with a parole officer on Monday, as is standard procedure. Although court officials made an exception to the rule for the former president, allowing him to appear virtually.
Turley added that he thinks Judge Juan Merchan was somewhat biased in his court rulings toward prosecutors, so he wouldn’t be surprised by any outcome.
“There is a lot of pressure. You know, when I walked out of that courtroom after the verdict, it was like the Roman games. I mean, people were static, to the point where it was hard to watch,” Turley said. “People were dancing in the streets. That’s the environment around this court.”
“And there were other people who were in deep, you know, agony and sadness,” he continued. “It was an image of the United States and it wasn’t necessarily a good one. I mean, I stood there for a second and took it all in, because it was a very bizarre, bifurcated scene.”
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