Quick Take
Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on April 4 to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records to conceal alleged hush money payments. Social media posts misleadingly claim Trump is “facing up to 30+ years” in prison if convicted. But legal experts said it is unlikely Trump would serve any time in prison.
Full Story
Former President Donald Trump was arraigned on April 4 in a Manhattan courtroom on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records — the first criminal indictment filed against a former U.S. president.
As we’ve written before, the case centers on allegations that Trump conspired during the 2016 presidential election to pay $130,000 to silence porn actor Stormy Daniels about a sexual encounter and then falsified business records to conceal state and federal election law violations.
Trump pleaded not guilty on all counts before being released and returning that night to his home in Florida, where he addressed supporters. The next court hearing is scheduled for December.
Following the arraignment, social media users began making misleading predictions about a potential prison sentence for Trump if he were convicted.
Under New York’s state penal code, falsifying business records in the first degree is a Class E non-violent felony. Potential jail time for the offense can range from one and one-third to four years in prison.
An April 4 Instagram post, which includes a fake, computer-generated image of Trump being arrested, is captioned with the claim that Trump is “facing up to 30+ years if found guilty.” The post received more than 9,000 likes.
That same day, conservative comedian Terrence K. Williams took the claim further on Facebook, misleadingly declaring, “President Trump is facing 136 years in prison if he’s found guilty of all 34 felonies.” That post received more than 85,000 views and more than 6,000 likes.
Misreading the State Penal Code
Legal experts told FactCheck.org that a sentence involving jail time is unlikely for Trump — and, if it were imposed, the sentence wouldn’t be nearly as long as the posts suggest.
It is uncommon for first-time offenders of Class E non-violent felonies to receive jail time. (Probation, fines and mandatory community service are more common types of sentences.)
“A typical white collar offender, convicted of a non-violent crime, with no prior record, would not receive prison time,” John C. Coffee, Jr., professor of criminal justice at Columbia Law School, told us in an April 5 email.
Similarly, Arthur Aidala, former president of the Brooklyn Bar Association and a former prosecutor, told Business Insider, “I do not see a scenario where Donald Trump spends one minute in jail.”
Even if Trump were convicted and sentenced to jail time, which Coffee suggested could happen if a judge wanted “to signal that ‘No Man is Above the Law,'” the total sentence wouldn’t approach “30+ years,” as the Instagram post suggested.
That is because the majority of non-violent felony sentences are served concurrently, or simultaneously, rather than consecutively, which occurs when a convict is imprisoned for the total time accumulated from multiple charges. A concurrent sentence would mean that Trump couldn’t be imprisoned for any time longer than four years, the maximum possible sentence for one count of falsifying business records.
It is “likely that his sentences for the various counts would run concurrently. That would mean a maximum of four years in prison,” Claire Finkelstein, director of the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center, told us in an email on April 5.
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. Facebook has no control over our editorial content.
Sources
Arthur L. Aidala Esq. AidalaLaw.com. Accessed 6 Apr 2023.
Ax, Joseph. “Donald Trump has been charged – what happens next?” Reuters. 5 Apr 2023.
Claire Finkelstein. Law.UPenn.edu. Accessed 6 Apr 2023.
Coffee Jr., John C. Email sent to FactCheck.org. 5 Apr 2023.
“District Attorney Bragg Announces 34-Count Felony Indictment of Former President Donald J. Trump.” Press release. Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. 4 Apr 2023.
Farley, Robert. “Trump Retweets False Attack on Rep. Omar.” FactCheck.org. 18 Sep 2019.
Farley, Robert and D’Angelo Gore. “What’s in the Trump’s Indictment?” FactCheck.org. 4 Apr 2023.
Finkelstein, Claire. Email sent to FactCheck.org. 5 Apr 2023.
Hale Spencer, Saranac and D’Angelo Gore. “Conservative Figures Spread Baseless Claims About Attack on Paul Pelosi.” FactCheck.org. 27 Jan 2023.
John C. Coffee, Jr. Law.Columbia.edu. Accessed 6 Apr 2023.
Hilditch, Cameron. “Fact Check: Photos of Donald Trump Being Arrested Are Fake.” The Dispatch. 24 Mar 2023.
Kochi, Sudiksha. “Fact check: Photos showing Trump arrested by law enforcement are computer-generated“. USA Today. 22 Mar 2023.
Legal Information Institute. “consecutive sentence.” Cornell Law School. Updated Jul 2022.
Musumeci, Natalie and Laura Italiano. “Is Trump going to jail? Ex-president’s odds of lockup over his felony charges are slim to none, legal experts say.” Business Insider. 4 Apr 2023.
revengeworld. “(SWIPE) #DonaldTrump has officially turned himself in and placed under arrest. He’s facing up to 30+ years if found guilty.. What are y’all thoughts on this!? Follow @revengeworld for More!!” Instagram. 4 Apr 2023.
Terrence K Williams. “Trump is facing a 136 YEARS IN PRISON. 34 felony counts! F*** These Evil Democrats. President Trump is under Arrest. This is sickening, heartbreaking and destructive.” Facebook. 4 Apr 2023.
Law Firm of Andrew M. Stengel. “New York Penal Law – Class E Non-Violent Felonies.” Accessed 5 Apr 2023.
Law Firm of Andrew M. Stengel. “New York State – Felony Classes and Sentences.” Accessed 5 Apr 2023
Waxman, Olivia B. “Donald Trump Is the First President Ever Criminally Charged. Others Have Come Close Though.” Time. 30 Mar 2023.