Trump has to tell probation if he is 'associating with criminals' Bannon and Roger Stone
MSNBC legal analyst Andrew Weissmann pointed out over the weekend that former President Donald Trump will have to explain at a probation hearing whether he is "associating with criminals" like former strategist Steve Bannon.
During an interview on Sunday, MSNBC host Jen Psaki noted that Trump was scheduled to participate in a probation meeting via Zoom after he was convicted of 34 felony counts in a New York hush money trial.
"This is one where Donald Trump really can—it's his to lose," Weissmann explained. "If he were to start saying the kinds of things that he has been saying during the trial and after the trial, and attacking the jurors, the witnesses, the judge, family members, to foment sort of an anti-law enforcement, a false anti-law enforcement sentiment, you know, that's not going to go that well, to say the least."
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He continued: "He'll be asked about whether he is associating with criminals...He's going to have to sort of discuss whether he still coordinates with Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Steve Bannon."
Weissmann then issued a reminder:
"Remember, all of those people have been found guilty by a jury and are felons themselves."
In 2020, Trump commuted Stone's 40-month sentence for making false statements. Manafort spent two years in prison for witness tampering conspiracies. And Bannon is scheduled to serve four months in prison for contempt of Congress.