Donald Trump could end up being forced to pick up trash from the street, clean graffiti or carry out other menial tasks if he’s hit with community service as part of his sentencing for his felony conviction, experts explained.
Trump, 77, is slated to be sentenced on July 11 by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan after making history Thursday as the first US president to be convicted of a crime.
The presumptive GOP presidential nominee was found guilty by a jury of 34 counts of falsifying business records for concealing hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
Here are the possible sentences Trump faces, and how his likely appeal of the verdict might play out:
The real estate tycoon faces a possible maximum of four years imprisonment for each of the 34 counts against him. If he were to be sentenced to less than a year behind bars, he’d be sent to jail, not prison.
But given that Trump was found guilty of non-violent crimes and has never been convicted before, legal experts said he’s unlikely to get hard time, and is more likely to receive probation or a conditional discharge.
“Trump can get a prison sentence, probation, or even a jail sentence if he receives a year or less,” criminal defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman told The Post. “He could also receive community service as part of a probationary sentence, including picking up trash on the side of the road.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Thursday declined to say what punishment his office would seek.
Trump’s lawyers must file their sentencing recommendation to Merchan by June 13, and will undoubtedly seek a no-jail term. Bragg’s office must file its recommendation by June 27.
But before then, Trump will have to meet with the probation department to go over topics like his history and his thoughts about the case, so the agency can prepare a report for the judge to use at the sentencing.
“I don’t expect a prison [or] jail sentence but anything is possible from this judge and this district attorney,” Lichtman said.
What could probation or conditional discharge be like for Trump?
The judge can impose whatever conditions he sees fit, including setting the parameters for probation or conditional release.
Trump faces up to five years of probation, which would entail a probation officer checking in with him to make sure he’s meeting whatever conditions the judge lays out.
Those could include not committing another crime, paying a fine by a certain date or notifying a probation office of his travel plans, New York Law School Professor Anna Cominsky explained.
Or, the ex-president could face three years conditional discharge, which is similar to probation — in that Trump must follow the judge’s rules, but wouldn’t be monitored by an officer, Cominsky said.
“Conditional discharge has less supervision than probation,” she said.
It could be hard logistically to have Trump monitored by a probation officer because even if he’s not reelected, a former president still has to travel, host events and carry out other obligations expected of a public figure.
“A former president has a lot of responsibilities,” noted criminal defense lawyer Jeremy Saland, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan DA’s office. “Probation would be too administratively difficult for someone who is the former president of the US.”
Merchan could opt to force Trump into community service — which the real estate mogul could either fulfill through a court-approved program or through private community service at a non-profit of his choosing.
“They can have you cleaning the street, removing graffiti or something getting your hands as dirty as that,” Saland said of the community service programs.
Cominsky said other examples include working at a food bank or in a community garden.
Could Trump face monetary fines?
Trump could face up to a $5,000 fine on each of the 34 counts — or a total of $170,000 — Cominsky said.
But, “for someone like Donald Trump, fines will be inconsequential,” Saland said, noting in this case “the dollars are symbolic.”