DDonald Trump the appointment with the Manhattan criminal court is not yet over. Next comes his punishment for falsify business records in the first degree. In a few days or weeks, Mr. Trump will be interviewed by a probation officer, a ritual that influences every sentence. Common questions will be asked. How is his health and family life? Describe your friends and associates: are any of them, by any chance, gang members? Then, the kicker: does the accused take responsibility for his crimes?
The short and polite answer is absolutely no. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Trump attacked the May 30 verdict, as virtually every ambitious Republican has done. At the same time, they attacked the procedure as a rigged trial and as election interference by a Democratic prosecutor, Alvin Bragg, whom House Republicans now want to drag before Congress. “Anyone who defends this verdict is a danger to you and your family,” said Tucker Carlson, a right-wing commentator. Donations to the Trump campaign have increased. WinRed, a Republican fundraising site, briefly crashed.