Cyrus Vance Jr., a former Manhattan District Attorney, said Sunday he does not think former President Donald Trump will face jail time.
“The president has made this a little more complicated by having been found in contempt 10 times during the court,” Vance said during an interview on NBC’s "Meet the Press" on Sunday morning. “But I think that with the proximity of the Republican Convention four days after his sentencing, and then, if he is the candidate for the Republican Party, the proximity of the election, I would be surprised that he would be sentenced to any imprisonment.”
He added, “That said, the court could adjourn sentencing until after the general election and decide then.”
Vance passed on answering whether he would urge jail time for Trump as DA, saying, “That's for Mr. Bragg to decide,” referencing Alvin Bragg, the current occupant of the office.
Vance also commented on donations that Justice Juan Merchan made to the Biden campaign and Democratic issues, saying he does not think “a $20 donation and a $30 donation rise to the serious appearance of a conflict” even as many Republicans strongly disagree.
“I know Judge Merchan. Obviously, before Judge Merchan, he was our grand jury judge when he prosecuted the Trump organization, and I think he is honest as the day is long,” Vance said. “He was careful. He was caring, and I think he handled a very difficult trial with a neutral hand and gave the president every benefit of the doubt that he was entitled to under the law.”
Vance said he does not think Trump is being persecuted for his beliefs, but offered an example of a case where he saw politics playing a role.
“Do you remember when Michael Cohen was indicted by U.S. Attorney [Preet] Bharara in 2015? The president — incoming president, President Trump, asked Bharara to stay on and that investigation continued,” Vance said. “So President Trump fired Bharara and he brought in a Republican U.S. Attorney, Geoff Berman, excellent man, great lawyer. Geoff Berman continued the investigation into the president, so the president fired him, too.”
from Politics, Policy, Political News Top Stories https://ift.tt/pnduq2M
