The fallout continues from Donald Trump's conviction in his Manhattan "hush money" case and the clock is ticking as we await his July 11 sentencing date. Most every legal analyst I've heard from has stated that under more "normal" circumstances, a defendant with no prior convictions who is found guilty of some Class E felonies would likely receive a fine of some sort and be released on their own recognizance while awaiting appeal. But this was far from a normal trial and Juan Merchan is quite an abnormal judge. Would he really lock Trump up over this in the middle of a presidential campaign? We can't rule out the possibility. And if he does, legacy media outlets like the Associated Press are already writing Merchan a note to excuse him for the decision. You see, if Donald Trump winds up going to jail, it will be his own fault because he has refused to say that he's "sorry."

 Donald Trump has had plenty to say since his hush money trial conviction last week.

He’s claimed the case was rigged, incorrectly linked President Joe Biden to the state prosecution, called the star witness against him a “sleazebag” and said the judge was a “devil” and “highly conflicted.”

What he hasn’t done is utter any variation of the words that might benefit him most come sentencing time next month: “I’m sorry.”

To be fair, in more routine court proceedings, once a defendant has been found guilty, defense attorneys will typically advise them to express some form of remorse. If they do, the judge may take that into consideration when deciding on a sentence that falls somewhere between what the defense and the prosecution are asking for. 

The AP managed to find a couple of Manhattan current and former prosecutors who were quick to agree that Trump might have a harsh sentence coming. One said that if he goes to the sentencing hearing and describes the trial as a witch hunt or anything else, there "will be consequences and there should be consequences." Everyone is waiting to see if Trump will address Merchan directly during the proceedings, something which his is permitted but not required to do. (Most analysts agree that it would be a bad idea.)

It seemed obvious from the beginning, however, that Donald Trump never intended to back down, apologize, or stop calling out these kangaroo court proceedings for what they obviously were. That's just not his style. And his legal team has no doubt expressed great confidence that they can get the convictions overturned on appeal. Saying "I'm sorry" would be seen as Trump admitting he had done something wrong, an accusation he has denied from the beginning. And with all of the reversible error on display in Merchan's courtroom, his odds of a reversal look excellent. But that process is going to take time.

The big question is how much time we're talking about. Trump has already publicly stated that he is "OK" with being put behind bars or sentenced to home confinement. The legacy media is drooling over the prospect. For them, the only thing better than being able to repeatedly say "convicted felon Donald Trump" would be a photo of him sitting behind bars or wearing an ankle bracelet. But those images could backfire on them just as everything else has thus far. Trump's fundraising since the conviction has passed the $200 million mark. We're in uncharted territory. Nothing is certain at this point, but it's not inconceivable that Donald Trump might have an even better chance of beating Joe Biden from jail than he would out on the campaign trail.