Just two weeks ago, Donald Trump was convicted in a New York City courtroom on 34 counts of falsification of business records in the first degree. While it is possible that Trump could face prison time, it is not a certainty.
Since the conviction, Trump has far from shown contrition and instead has attacked everyone involved with his case. During a recent interview with Salon, Adam Shlahet, director of the Brendan Moore Trial Advocacy Center at Fordham Law, explained how Trump could be making it more likely that he goes to jail.
Shalet told Marina Villaneuve, "When I first started thinking about this case, I thought that the judge sentencing him to incarceration was very unlikely. I'm thinking it's more likely now."
The legal expert continued, "He [Merchan] can take into account all of his civil fraud, can take into account all of his contempt, and so even though this is a guy with no record and he's an older gentleman, there are a ton of factors, aggravating factors that would lead a judge to give him some jail time."
Shalet then remarked:
"When the person who's going to be deciding your sentence is the judge, it's also a really good idea to not antagonize the judge at every opportunity. Every time he gets a microphone, he insults the judge and calls the judge crooked and calls the judge conflicted and shows no respect for the jury's verdict. And that is not the way a defendant who wants probation should be acting."
You can read the full interview here.