In Reply to: He did not, although he should posted by DCfan on November 22, 2024 at 13:02:03
. . . hold the sentencing hearing. There's no reason not to. Trump should have to sit in court and the judge should have to spell out for the record how seriously he views Trump's crimes and the aggravating and mitigating factors of his sentence.
He should then impose sentence.
Please note that I am not weighing in on what the sentence should be, other than respecting the jury's findings of fact.
That sentence may or may not include incarceration. It's not out of the question that the judge would simply impose a fine. A large one, probably. While Trump would take a financial hit, it would not interfere with his duties as President.
If the judge decides the crimes are serious enough to demand jail time, he should impose sentence. Tell Trump right now how long he has to serve. But then give Trump the option to voluntarily defer serving the sentence until his Presidency is over. Say to March 1, 2029.
All that should leave the appellate courts plenty to chew on.
I don't like that Trump was elected. But he was elected, fairly. He's legit. Voters deserve to have the President they voted for.
But they also need to see that even a President isn't above the law.