'Incredibly sad day': Ex-prosecutor says Trump sentence will leave 'lasting damage'
Former Justice Department prosecutor Andrew Weissmann acknowledged that he's happy that the courts remained intact despite Donald Trump's attempts to intimidate his way through the legal process. But he's disappointed that Trump got away without punishment after being found guilty on 34 felony indictments.
"In some ways, this is a great day," said Weissmann, "and in many ways, it is just an incredibly sad day for the country. And I think a great day is that it happened — that in spite of enormous adversity, a credit to Alvin Bragg, a credit to Judge [Juan] Merchan, to the prosecution, to the jurors, to the witnesses that this happened and to all of the lawyers, the defense lawyers and the prosecutors on that, on the case."
On Thursday night, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Trump must face his sentencing. He had attempted to dodge sentencing, claiming that the High Court ruled he was immune.
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"At least five of the justices [are] saying he's going to be treated like everyone else," Weissmann continued. "Which is that, you know what? It's this is not Alice in Wonderland. Everyone, you go through the trial. You get sentenced, and then you appeal. Not in any other order. So that's all the good news."
However, "the bad news," he said, "is when prosecutor [Joshua] Steinglass said the defendant, the once and future president — that what that signals about this country, what it signals to the rest of the world in terms of who we are, in terms of the rule of law in this country. The sentence was obviously not the sentence that Donald Trump deserved, but for winning the election."
He noted it isn't "really justice."
Judge Merchan made it clear that "it was only because of the presidency, not Donald Trump, that he was getting this," Weissmann recalled. "And all of that is an undermining of the rule of law. It's an undermining of who we think we are in this country, but also in the rest of the world, which I think is going to have lasting damage."
He echoed his words on Thursday night, saying that the "bad news" from the Supreme Court should have been a 9-0 ruling.
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