Not all is lost for former President Trump. He’s got a silver bullet that not everyone is aware of.
And a defense lawyer just threw Trump a lifeline that could completely turn around the verdict.
The idea that a jury panel of 12 individuals all agreed that there was no reasonable doubt that Donald Trump was guilty of the criminal charges being brought against him in the hush money trial is mind-blowing. It really makes you wonder if anyone can be accused of anything with hardly any evidence at all.
But it’s not all over. First of all, it isn’t necessarily going to be the case that Trump will even go to prison prior to the election process this November. The judge will likely consider the logistical nightmare it would be to imprison a former president. Most legal experts argue that letting Trump appeal before serving a sentence that’s handed down in July is wise.
Secondly, Trump will obviously appeal, and the appellate court system is going to be considering this case with a higher degree of scrutiny than the lower court system did. If Trump is allowed to appeal before serving a sentence, the Democrats would never get their moment of seeing Donald Trump in a jail cell.
A top defense lawyer appeared on CNN and shared his thoughts on the case, noting how Donald Trump will have several strong arguments to bring to the appellate court system that will highlight how poorly this case has been handled.
Potential for Overturning Trump’s Guilty Verdict in New York Trial, Says Defense Attorney
Criminal defense attorney Michael O’Mara expressed optimism on Friday about the possibility of former President Donald Trump’s legal team overturning the recent guilty verdict from his New York trial.
A Manhattan jury convicted Trump on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in a case led by Democratic District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The trial and conviction have drawn significant attention and sparked debates about the unique legal circumstances surrounding the case.
During an appearance on CNN News Central, CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig and O’Mara discussed the grounds on which Trump’s appeal might be based. Honig highlighted the unprecedented nature of the case, particularly the intersection of state and federal law enforcement.
“So I think the top grounds for appeal is the fact that we had a state court here, a state prosecutor, enforcing in part a federal election crime for the first time actually in U.S. history,” Honig explained. “We’ve never before seen a case where any state or county level prosecutor has charged, as part of their case, or as a sub-part of their case, a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act. So this is the first time that’s happened. It was briefed to Judge Merchan. Judge Merchan said, ‘I find it okay, I find it acceptable under New York state law.’ But that‘s going to be issue 1A on the appeal. We don’t know what the answer will be. It’s unprecedented.”
When host John Berman inquired about the likelihood of a successful appeal, O’Mara was notably optimistic. “I think there’s a great likelihood, and the reason why is there are a number of issues,” he responded. O’Mara specifically criticized the handling of the jury during the trial, arguing that they should have been sequestered due to the high-profile nature of the case.
“I have always complained about the way this jury was or was not handled during the trial. I think with the massive focus on this case that they should have been sequestered. They certainly should have been sequestered during the deliberations. I think they should have been sequestered for the week before,” O’Mara said.
He continued to emphasize the potential for external influence on the jury, given the extensive media coverage and public interest. “At this point, they’ll find out who the jurors are. They will backtrack them to every house that they went to, to watch the billboards they saw, the news stands that passed by, so I have a real concern that the judge who has to ensure the freedom given by the jury process wasn’t because this jury was not well-protected. And that’s only one of one hundred.”
Ahead of the conviction, Trump attorney Will Scharf asserted that the former president’s team would “speedily appeal” if found guilty. The jury reached their verdict on Thursday evening after beginning deliberations on Wednesday. Trump’s charges stemmed from allegations related to reimbursing his former attorney Michael Cohen for a payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
As Trump’s legal team prepares for the appeals process, the unique and unprecedented aspects of the case will be central to their arguments, raising questions about the intersection of state and federal legal authority and the protection of the jury from external influences.
Since appeals can take years, the next major decision will be whether the judge will decide to let Donald Trump wait until the appeal is completed before facing any remaining sentence should the verdict not be overturned in the appellate courts.
You can watch the clip from CNN’s broadcast below:
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
