Donald Trump is scheduled to be sentenced in a New York City court on July 11, four days before he accepts the Republican presidential nomination, for the 34 felony counts he was convicted of last month.
Judge Juan Marchand, who is presiding over the case and has been the target of near-constant attacks from President Trump, faces a historic choice: sentence the former president to prison or give him a lighter punishment such as probation or community service. Judge Marchand should choose the former.
This is a bad week for the name Michael Cohen, believe me, I know.
The reason is simple: Trump's actions before, during, and after the trial not only undermine the integrity of our criminal justice system, but also risk creating a glaring double standard in how criminal defendants are treated.
The first thing to point out is that a 77-year-old first-time offender rarely receives prison time for a nonviolent crime like the one Trump was convicted of: falsifying business records.
But rare does not mean never, and Trump's crimes are by no means the norm.
“The most serious cases — about 10 percent of the total — resulted in prison sentences,” said Norm Eisen, who has investigated about 10,000 prosecutions in New York state for falsifying business records.
And there is no question that Trump's crimes, which involved multiple acts of misconduct spread over more than a year, constitute serious crimes.
By concealing his affair with the porn star, Trump was attempting to conceal important information from voters, in the words of prosecutor Joshua Steinglass, ” [the] eye [of voters] His actions were a fundamental and unlawful attack on democracy.
President Trump's efforts to keep the Stormy Daniels case out of the news may have influenced the ultimate outcome of the 2016 election, and there is no doubt that the outcome of the presidential election directly affected the lives of every American.
Stormy Daniels 'emotional' over Trump's guilty verdict
For example, how many Americans would be alive today if Hillary Clinton had been commander in chief when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2020, rather than a president who covered up the coronavirus's deadly nature, refused to wear masks in public, ignored social distancing rules, and promoted discredited treatments?
But there is another, more serious issue for which Judge Marchan must impose the maximum sentence on Trump: his open contempt for the criminal justice system.
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Donald Trump speaks at a Turning Point PAC town hall at Dream City Church on June 6, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Before and during Trump's trial, he was found in contempt of court 10 times, and in the process displayed the kind of disrespect for the court that would land any other criminal defendant in prison. He attacked Judge Marchan and his family, openly suggesting the judge “hated him,” and even suggested that animosity toward Trump was due to his Latino origins. Trump also used his Truth Social feed to attack witnesses and the families of the prosecution.
During the trial, Marchan scolded the defendant for “audibly swearing” and “visibly shaking his head,” which the judge said “could potentially intimidate witnesses and jurors.” According to one lawyer I spoke to, “actively swearing during a witness' testimony is a great way to watch that testimony from the cell.”
But after Marchant told him, “The last thing I want to do is put you in jail,” Trump fled Rikers Island. There's no need to guess why: As Marchant said in court, it was because Trump was “a former president and potentially the next president of the United States.”
Although Trump constantly complains about selective prosecution, there is little doubt that he directly benefits from his position.
Trump's complaints about a “rigged” justice system are ridiculous
One lawyer I spoke with, who asked to remain anonymous, who worked on Judge Marchan's case, told me, “What if my client were to digitally attack the judge or her family on social media? Would my client be forgiven because Trump got away with it? Not really, but we would be pounding the table.”
“For me, that's been a big concern throughout the trial. There are currently 10 cases open in the courts. If my clients want to intervene, there's nothing to stop them. Whatever Trump's sentence is, he's going to go away and leave behind a broken system with no regard for what he's caused.”
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People celebrate after former President Donald Trump was found guilty on all charges in Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024 in New York City.
Spencer Pratt/Getty Images
If Judge Marchan allows Trump to intimidate the court, violate numerous gag orders, and continually attack the integrity of our criminal justice system, it risks creating an effective free period for other defendants to do the same, making it much more difficult for judges to curb such excesses.
But Trump's behavior after his felony conviction is perhaps the best argument for imprisoning the former president, as he and his allies are quick to blame the criminal trial that sealed his fate.
He has baselessly claimed the trial was rigged against him, lied about Marchan's sentence, and claimed “this is all Biden and his aides” – claims with absolutely no evidence – and continues to insist he has done nothing wrong and committed no crime, demonstrating no remorse for his actions.
Trump should blame the lawyers.
More ominously, Trump's allies are openly pursuing plans for revenge against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, even going so far as to imprison him. (Not surprisingly, Trump has made no effort to plead with his supporters to stop such inflammatory rhetoric.)
Trump's actions demonstrate a fundamental disrespect for the criminal justice system and contempt for the rule of law, and are compelling evidence that a felony conviction that does not result in incarceration will not lead to any real change in his behavior.
Sending a former president to prison would be a momentous decision that would only exacerbate the country's deep divisions, but the integrity of our justice system requires more than that.
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