Donald Trump's attorney Alina Habba has cautioned about potential unrest if the former president is imprisoned following his conviction in the hush money criminal case.
Trump has become the initial former U.S. president to be found guilty of a crime, having been convicted on 34 charges of falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. Daniels claimed to have had a sexual encounter with Trump years ago, an allegation Trump has refuted. Following the verdict, he baselessly criticized the trial as "rigged" and intended to appeal.
Trump is scheduled to receive his sentence on July 11, just before the Republican National Convention, where party members are expected to nominate him for president officially.
Each falsifying business records felony carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison, although prosecutors have not indicated whether they will seek imprisonment. It remains uncertain whether Judge Juan M. Merchan will order a prison term.
During an interview on Fox News's Hannity, Habba suggested that it wouldn't be surprising if the judge decides to impose a prison sentence while Trump is actively campaigning for the presidency.
"We will have to wait and see what the prosecution recommends, there will certainly be some deliberation," she informed host Sean Hannity. "But I wouldn't underestimate them."
Habba proceeded to mention remarks made on The View by co-host Sunny Hostin after Trump's conviction. Hostin stated that she had been informed by "someone" in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office, the prosecuting entity, that they would seek a one-year prison term "because when you spend a year in prison in New York, or under, you serve in Rikers Island."
"Why are you even conversing with individuals from the DA's office?" Habba questioned.
"Moreover, I wouldn't put anything past them, Sean. They failed to defeat him in court, they failed when they imposed gag orders on every case. But now, they're attempting to incarcerate him, and I wouldn't be surprised."
She continued: "This will undoubtedly spark outrage in the nation. They simply cannot do it."
Bragg's office has been reached out to for a statement via email.
Habba also implied that Democrats were aiming to imprison Trump to aid President Joe Biden's re-election campaign.
Merchan on Tuesday adjusted the gag order in the case, permitting Trump to make comments regarding witnesses and jurors in the hush money trial. However, the ban on Trump commenting about court staffers, the prosecution team, and their families remains in place until he is sentenced. Trump is still permitted to comment on the judge and Bragg.
Trump faces charges in three other criminal cases, although it is uncertain if any of them will proceed to trial before November.
The U.S. Supreme Court is anticipated to make a ruling soon on whether Trump is immune from criminal charges related to his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss.
In a separate federal case, he is accused of unlawfully retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and impeding the government's efforts to retrieve them. Trump is also accused, along with others, of participating in a scheme to illegally overturn his narrow defeat to Biden in the 2020 election in Georgia. He has refuted any wrongdoing in all of the cases.
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