Former President Donald Trump said he thinks there will be a “breaking point” for the public if he is sentenced to house arrest or prison after being found guilty on all counts in the hush money trial last week.
In clips from a 90-minute interview with “Fox & Friends Weekend” that aired Sunday, Trump was asked about the possibility of house arrest or prison for Judge Juan Mercen, who is presiding over the case. Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on all 34 counts in New York on July 11 — just days before the Republican National Convention.
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said he was “OK” and acknowledged that “it could happen” but warned it would be “difficult” for the public.
“I’m not sure the public will stand for it. You know, I’m not — I’m not sure the public will stand for it,” Trump said. “I think it’s going to be hard for the public to take. You know, at a certain point, there’s a breaking point.
In the wake of Trump’s conviction in the hush money probe, Trump supporters have made threats of violence targeting Mercen and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Brock in a series of posts on the same websites used by Trump supporters to coordinate ahead of January 6, 2021. Capital attack, NBC News reported. A message board used by Trump supporters also sought to publicly release the addresses of jurors in the case.
The former president’s comments come days after a Manhattan grand jury indicted him on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
The charges Trump was convicted of are classified as a Class E felony — a felony punishable by a fine, probation or up to four years in prison. But some experts told NBC News they think it’s unlikely the former president will face time behind bars because of his age, lack of criminal record and other reasons.
Since the end of the investigation, Trump has maintained that the actions were “egregious.” Speaking to reporters and supporters at Trump Tower on Friday, the former president said, “This is a fraud. There is a fraudulent investigation. It shouldn’t have been there. We shouldn’t have had that judge.
He added, “All these things are being done [President Joe] Biden and his people. This is done by Washington. No one had ever seen anything like it. “
At the Trump Tower event, he also vowed to appeal the jury’s verdict, saying, “We’re going to appeal this fraud. We are going to appeal on various issues.
After Trump blamed Biden and Democrats for his conviction and trial, Biden issued his own comments, telling reporters at the White House, “It’s irresponsible, it’s dangerous, it’s irresponsible for anyone to say it was rigged because they don’t like the verdict.”
In an interview with “Fox & Friends Weekend,” Trump said he was not authorized to talk about the hush money case, referring to the partial gag order imposed by Merchan earlier this year. An attempt by the Biden White House to interfere with his election chances.
“The first presidential candidate and leader leads Crooked Joe [Biden] A lot, it’s not allowed to talk, maybe they’re doing me a big favor. Who knows?” he said. “But I’m not allowed to speak—I’m gagged.”
The order barred Trump from speaking about court employees, potential jurors and potential witnesses.
During the hearing, Mercen warned Trump that he could be jailed for repeatedly violating the order and fined him thousands of dollars.
