ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos clashed with Trump attorney Will Scharf over his hush money conviction on Sunday, with the anchor threatening to cut the lawyer’s mic.
Scharf appeared as Trump and his team went on a full media blitz Sunday in the wake of the ex-president being found guilty on 34 counts Thursday, with the president giving his first interview.
The attorney pushed a familiar line for the defense on ABC’s This Week, that the conviction is the result of collusion between Joe Biden and the progressive Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, who prosecuted the case.
Stephanopoulos dismissed this line of thinking: ‘Of course, the attorney general of Manhattan has nothing to do with the Department of Justice.’
‘I vehemently disagree that the district attorney in New York was not politically motivated here, and I vehemently disagree that President Biden and his political allies aren’t up to their necks in this prosecution,’ Scharf responded.
Stephanopoulos was ready to cancel Scharf from the entire show, saying: ‘There’s no evidence here of that sir. … I’m not going to let you continue to say that — there’s zero evidence of that.’
The former White House Communications Director for Bill Clinton demanded Scharf respond to his questions about the sentencing, which is scheduled for July 11.
‘This has nothing to do with President Biden,’ he said. ‘Do you want to answer the question about the sentencing process or not?’
‘I completely disagree that this has nothing to do with President Biden,’ Scharf responded.
‘With respect to sentencing, as I said before, we’re going to vigorously challenge this case on appeal. I don’t think President Trump is going to end up being subject to any sentence whatsoever.’
He then found a way to bring it back from the sentencing to the accusations of Biden corruption.
‘I think: Hope for the best, plan for the worst, George,’ Scharf said.
‘But I think when you look at the totality of the circumstances in this case, this is a prosecution that should have never been brought. This was a case tried in front of a judge that clearly should have recused.’
‘I think we have a lot of fair complaints with the way this trial was conducted and I think ultimately, President Trump will be vindicated on appeal.’
Trump still faces three other criminal cases, including two over alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 loss, although they are not likely to come to trial or conclude before the election.
He denies wrongdoing in all the cases and has called the charges a Democratic conspiracy to prevent him from competing.
Biden, meanwhile, has sought to defend the nation’s justice system, saying it is ‘reckless’ and ‘dangerous’ to call the verdict ‘rigged.’
The U.S. Justice Department denies any political interference.
Trump said he would accept home confinement or jail time after his historic conviction by a New York jury last week but that it would be tough for the public to accept.
‘I’m not sure the public would stand for it,’ the Republican presidential candidate told Fox News in an interview that aired on Sunday. ‘I think it’d be tough for the public to take. You know, at a certain point, there’s a breaking point.’
Trump did not elaborate on what he thought might happen if that point is reached. He is scheduled to be sentenced July 11, four days before Republicans gather to formally choose their presidential nominee to face Democratic President Joe Biden in November’s election.
Asked what Trump supporters should do if he were jailed, Republic National Committee Co-Chair Lara Trump told CNN: ‘Well, they’re gonna do what they’ve done from the beginning, which is remain calm and protest at the ballot box on November 5th.’
‘There’s nothing to do other than make your voices heard loud and clear and speak out against this.’
Trump has used his conviction to step up his fundraising efforts but has not otherwise sought to mobilize his supporters, in contrast to his comments protesting his 2020 loss to Biden that were followed by an attack by his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021 on the U.S. Capitol.