Trump on Possibility of Jail or House Arrest: ‘I’m OK With It’

Peter Wade

2 June 2024 at 12:18 pm·2-min read

Donald Trump is putting up a brave face and cashing in following his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records for a hush-money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The former president said he is “OK” with potentially facing house arrest or a prison sentence — however unlikely that outcome may be.

“When it comes to the legal maze that you’re still facing, the judge could decide to say house arrest or even jail,” Fox & Friends host Pete Hegseth asked Trump in an interview filmed days after he was found guilty. “How do you face what that could look like?”

“I’m OK with it,” Trump said. “I saw one of my lawyers the other day on television saying, ‘Oh no, you don’t want to do that to the president.’ I said, ‘You don’t beg for anything. You just — the way it is.”

"I don't know that the public would stand for it … I think it would be tough for the public to take. At a certain point there's a breaking point" — Trump to Fox & Friends on the prospect he's sentenced to jail time pic.twitter.com/qEcB7tw1jH
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 2, 2024

“That could happen. I don’t know that the public would stand it. I’m not sure that the public would stand for it,” Trump added. “I think it would be tough for the public to take. You know, at a certain point, there’s a breaking point.”

Trump is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Juan Merchan at 10 a.m. on July 11. Because the charges he is convicted of are class E felonies, Trump could get a fine, probation or up to four years in state prison per count, facing a maximum of 20 years. While prison time seems unlikely, given the conviction is for falsifying business records, it’s not out of the realm of possibility.

In the Fox interview, Trump painted himself as a martyr, saying, “I’m fighting for the Constitution.” He has frequently claimed the trial was “rigged,” despite not having evidence to prove it.

“This is all done by [President Joe] Biden and his people. This is done by Washington. No one has ever seen anything like this,” Trump said at Trump Tower following his conviction.

He promised to appeal the verdict: “We’re going to be appealing this scam. We’re going to be appealing it on many different things.”

Trump also claimed, “This is a scam, this is a rigged trial. It shouldn’t have been in that venue. We shouldn’t have had that judge.”

Reacting to Trump’s comments, Biden said last week in his first remarks since the former president was convicted, “It’s reckless, it’s dangerous, it’s irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don’t like the verdict.”

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