By Ahmad Dagher
NEW YORK CITY, NY––A Manhattan jury has found Donald Trump guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records, making him a felon.
On a legal basis, this does not constrict his ability to be elected president––but many GOP Senators fear these charges, especially the possibility of a prison sentence, because of their possible ramifications on voters’ decisions by this November.
As Trump warned himself: the public might reach a “breaking point” should he be imprisoned or confined to his home.
“It could happen…I think it would be tough for the public to take,” he said this weekend.
Yet some Republican senators believe that a sentence of incarceration might just strengthen the support that Trump currently enjoys. Senator Ted Budd said such a sentence “would only strengthen the resolve of the Americans to support President Trump.”
Senator Thom Tillis agreed, arguing that a tough sentence could help Trump if it further angered his avid supporters.
But should Trump both win the election and be sentenced to prison, America would be in uncharted territory. On the one hand, Trump would be needed to fulfill his duties as the elected president, which seems impossible from a Rikers Island cell; on the other, the requirement for convicted felons to serve their sentences “fully and promptly” would make it seem like he ought to stay behind bars.
“There is a federalism question that’s never really been addressed,” said Stan Brand, former counsel to the House of Representatives.
And many senators, like Budd and Tillis, claim that the possibility is not out of the question. “With this process, anything is possible,” said Tillis. Budd agreed: “…I would put nothing past him at this point.”
To many’s relief, however, most legal experts don’t believe Judge Juan Merchan would deliver such a sentence, at least not right before the Republican National Convention on July 15. That seems adequately backed by Merchan’s stance on the issue: “You are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president, as well. There are many reasons why incarceration is truly a last resort for me,” he said to Trump on May 6.
But when even a lighter sentence, like probation, might have implications on his ability to serve as the president, many continue to worry.
These worries will be resolved, one way or another, when Merchan sentences Trump on July 11.
