Sunday 26 May 2024

Could Trump be spending his last weekend as a free man?

Will Donald Trump be sitting in a jail cell by the end of the week? It would seem to be a very remote possibility. But what if he is convicted of the 34 business fraud charges against him AND the judge rules he has continued to be in contempt of court for violating the gagging order on public comments attacking him (the judge) and members of the prosecution. Trump hasn't really stopped attacking the whole judicial system whenever he gets a chance even after being fined twice; and if there is one thing which judges hate more than anything it's a defendant who ignores and disrespects the court and all its works. So, even if the judge in this case, Juan Merchan, considers a large fine to be the most appropriate sentence for fraud convictions, might he contemplate a tougher sentence if he throws in a contempt of court penalty as well? Could that lead to a prison cell for the former president? Again, it's unlikely. But judges are very individual human beings and if Judge Merchan were to feel a spot of jail time might do Trump a lot of good to remind him that he is not above the law, then he just might. I suspect that Trump himself is thinking these sort of thoughts right now as he tries to celebrate the holiday weekend in memory of veterans. He will no doubt come to the conclusion that Judge Merchan wouldn't dare. But this is the trial of the century so far and the judge will want to seize his moment to ensure that Trump is not given special treatment of any kind just because he spent four years as the boss in the White House. We could be less than a week away from knowing the answer.

No comments:

Post a Comment