Donald Trump suggests his political opponents may face prosecution if he’s elected president
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Donald Trump has claimed “it’s very possible” that his political opponents may face prosecution after he became the first former US president to be criminally convicted.
Trump seemed to raise the prospect of it happening if he became president again during an interview with conservative US outlet Newsmax.
The 77-year-old said: “It’s a terrible precedent for our country. Does that mean the next president does it to them? That’s really the question.”
He added: “So, you know, it’s a terrible, terrible path that they’re leading us to, and it’s very possible that it’s going to have to happen to them.”
Trump was found guilty last week of falsifying business records in a five-week trial in New York.
The former president covered up a $130,000 (£102,000) payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels as part of a “hush money” scheme to bury stories he thought might hurt his presidential campaign in 2016.
He repeatedly made unfounded claims over the criminal proceedings, alleging without evidence that they were rigged against him before the jury found him unanimously guilty of all 34 counts he faced.
The recent verdict plunges America into unexplored territory ahead of this year’s election, with Trump and Mr Biden locked in a close race for the White House.
After Trump was found guilty by a jury in New York, something he said he would appeal, he faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison.
However, others convicted of the same offence often receive shorter sentences, fines or probation.
Meanwhile, Trump faces three more criminal cases.
He is also facing charges in relation to the attack on the US Capitol and over allegations he illegally held on to classified documents after leaving the White House.
Then, in Georgia, he is accused of criminally conspiring to overturn his narrow defeat in the state in the 2020 election.
But none of these cases have trial dates set, making it unlikely they will take place before the November election.
