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Former US President Donald Trump is on trial. The verdict is still pending. Will he go to prison for his alleged crimes?
New York – The first criminal trial against former US President Donald Trump is nearing completion. Trump is charged with 34 counts. He is alleged to have manipulated business records in order to conceal payments to cover up extramarital affairs before the 2016 US elections. Since he denies the affairs, his plea is “not guilty”. Imprisonment seems unlikely, but is not ruled out.
Daniel Horwitz, former Manhattan District Attorney, believes the verdict in this case could possibly be reached “by early next week,” according to the US news website Mediaite He believes the jury will proceed “very carefully and deliberately.” Since they received the case for deliberation on Wednesday (May 29), a verdict could take until early next week.
“They’ll want to be finished by the weekend” – Imminent verdict in Trump trial expected
However, there is a possibility that the verdict will be reached more quickly. “On the other hand, if they get this case before lunch tomorrow, I think we will have a verdict before Friday,” Horwitz said on Tuesday (May 28). But he believes the jury will want to wrap up the case quickly. “They don’t want it to go on for another week. They’ll want to be finished by the weekend,” he added.
Horwitz attributes this to the so-called “Friday effect,” a phenomenon in which jurors tend to deliberate more intensively as the weekend approaches – so as not to have to appear in court again on Monday. “They’re going to want to get it done. That’s the Friday effect. ‘We’re done with this case. We don’t want to come next week. We’ve been sitting for a long time. Today is Friday. Let’s get it done,'” the former district attorney explained.
A prison sentence is considered unlikely – but Trump’s case is unique
Although the end of the trial is now in sight, the expected sentence remains uncertain. According to the US portal Politico The charges against Trump are among the less serious crimes in New York. In addition, if found guilty, the former president would be a first-time offender. Therefore, a prison sentence is generally considered unlikely.
However, this is not certain. Former prosecutors from the law firm leading the prosecution have pointed this out. The case in which Trump is accused of falsifying business records to conceal bribing a porn star is unique. It is therefore difficult to predict how Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the trial, would make a possible ruling, according to the report. “This is not a one-off ‘oops, I made a mistake in my business records’ or even a one-off case,” said Diana Florence, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
The maximum sentence is four years in prison – will Trump soon be behind bars?
“Given the totality of the facts and circumstances that came to light during the trial, I believe that, in the event of a conviction, a prison sentence is justified,” Florence noted, adding: “If I were the prosecutor, I would definitely request a prison sentence.”
The maximum sentence for the crime Trump is accused of – falsifying business records on a large scale – is four years in prison. However, Judge Merchant is not required to impose a prison sentence, said PoliticoHe has a lot of leeway to impose a lighter sentence – such as probation or a “conditional release”. In the latter case, Trump would remain free as long as he stays out of further trouble. A probation sentence would oblige him to follow certain rules and report regularly to a probation officer. But it is also possible that Merchant will require Trump to do community service, according to the report. (tpn)
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