FILE – Former President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Trump Tower, May 31, 2024, in New York. Trump has had plenty to say since his hush money trial conviction last week. What he hasn’t done is utter any variation of the words that might benefit him most come sentencing time next month: “I’m sorry. to the state prosecution, called the star witness against him a “sleazebag” and said the judge was a “devil” and “highly conflicted.
As part of a broader, rambling broadside against the case, Trump has sought to downplay any concerns about his sentence, saying in a “Fox & Friends Weekend” interview that aired on Sunday that he was “OK” with the prospect of imprisonment or home confinement. “If he turns around and blames the court, attacks prosecutors, decries this as a witch hunt, lies — you should have no misgiving: There will be consequences and there should be consequences,” said Jeremy Saland, a former assistant district attorney in Manhattan.Trump’s attacks on US justice system after his conviction could be used by autocrats, say expertsas well as involvement in the subsequent scheme to buy her silence — would make any change of tune at his sentencing seem disingenuous.