Mark O’Mara, a former attorney now serving as a legal analyst for CNN, told the network that former President Donald Trump has a strong chance of successfully appealing his guilty verdict in the Manhattan hush money case due to multiple significant issues in the trial.
“What are the odds of this on appeal for Trump?” CNN’s Erin Burnett asked O’Mara.
“I actually think they’re pretty good because there are a number of significant issues with the way this trial was handled,” O’Mara replied confidently.
“We’re not talking about Donald Trump anymore. We’re discussing whether the trial was conducted fairly and whether the judge ensured it was unaffected by outside influences,” he added, pointing out specific concerns. “For instance, Erin, I’ve mentioned before that not sequestering the jury, even during deliberations, and especially during the week before closing arguments, was a significant mistake.”
O’Mara outlined the steps Trump’s legal team might take in their appeal efforts.
“The defense will scrutinize every juror’s activities—where they went, what they saw, including billboards—and use that information to argue that the jury was exposed to negative influences that the judge failed to protect their client from,” O’Mara explained.
“That’s just one issue, and there are many more we could discuss.”
Former President Donald Trump was convicted Thursday on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. To elevate the charge from a misdemeanor to a felony, the falsified records must have been intended to conceal another crime. However, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg never specified the other crime, nor did the jurors need to agree on what it might have been.
Judge Juan Merchan, whose ties to Democratic causes may become a focal point in the appeals process, has scheduled sentencing for July 11.
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