Former Trump lawyer has advice before sentencing

Tim Parlatore, Donald Trump's former lawyer, gave the former president advice Thursday on how to speak at his sentencing in July.

Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was tried in New York on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment allegedly made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels by Michael Cohen, then Trump's lawyer and fixer, before the 2016 presidential election. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg claimed the payment was intended to prevent her from speaking publicly about her claims that she had an affair with the former president.

On Thursday, a jury returned a guilty verdict on all 34 counts. Making history, Trump became the first former US president to be convicted of a crime and now faces prison time, which will be determined at his sentencing on July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention.

“It was a disgrace. It was a rigged trial by a contradictory and corrupt judge,” Trump said outside the courtroom after the verdict. The former president, who has long denounced the lawsuits as a “witch hunt,” has declared himself innocent of all charges in this and other criminal and civil cases he faces.

Hours after the guilty verdict was announced, Parlatore, who is a CNN legal commentator, appeared on the channel with host Laura Coates to discuss the verdict with a panel and provide legal advice to Trump on his next steps , saying, “I’m going to say it.” you only have one thing – and I pronounced the sentence in front of the judge [Juan] Mercan before – I would not suggest that the accused should speak at sentencing. Of course, it's his right whether he wants to speak or not. »

Coates interjected: “Even to say he's remorseful, which we don't think he could say.”

“That’s the point,” Parlatore replied. “I don't think he would say that, that's why you don't want him to talk,” suggesting his lawyers would be better off saying: “'My client still maintains his innocence and he is following the appeal procedure.' “Trump’s lawyers have 30 days from his conviction to appeal.

News week On Friday, he contacted Parlatore and Trump defense attorney Todd Blanche for comment via email. News week also contacted several legal analysts for comment.

In March, Merchan imposed a silence on Trump, barring him from making public statements about witnesses, including Cohen and Daniels, as well as lawyers and staff involved in the case and their families. The order excluded Merchan and Bragg. However, it was later expanded to include Merchan and Bragg's families after Trump launched scathing attacks on the judge's daughter, Loren Merchan, and her ties to the Democratic Party.

Trump was fined a total of $10,000 for 10 separate violations of the hush order and Merchan threatened prison time if the former president continued to violate the order.

At a news conference Friday, Trump called the trial a “scam” and spoke about Cohen, the prosecution's key witness, without naming him.

The former president said, “He was a highly qualified lawyer. Now I'm not allowed to use his name because of the silence,” apparently referring to Cohen. “But, you know, he's a sleazeball. Everyone knows that. It took me a while to find out, but he was effective.”

In a statement to News weekCohen said Friday, “Trump's press conference was nothing short of a mad avalanche of bats and muck about the broken brain.”