CNN Anchors Have Field Day With Details of Trump’s First Probationary Meeting: ‘Just As the Founders Intended!’
Former President Donald Trump was required to attend a virtual probationary hearing on Monday before he faces sentencing on July 11 for his felony conviction. CNN covered the development in Trump’s legal saga, and the details, according to the anchors, were “so normal and also so completely abnormal.”
Following a segment about Trump’s hearing with CNN anchor Kate Bolduan in which analyst John Miller outlined what Trump could expect from the hearing and its significance, both Bolduan and fellow anchor John Berman seemed to have their minds blown a bit by the fact that this completely procedural element of the criminal justice system was being applied to a former President of the United States.
One detail in particular cited by Miller was the fact that Trump’s Secret Service detail — a privilege granted to all former presidents, courtesy of former President Barack Obama — could serve as witnesses if he violates his probation:
Bolduan: [W]e’re talking about someone who’s convicted who has Secret Service protection as well. I mean, you’ve done a lot of reporting on, kind of, the coordination that’s necessary between Secret Service and all other forms of law enforcement around just the trial, around the trial. What does that, how do you now throw the Secret Service protection into all of this? What does that do?
Miller: Well for today, not much, because it’s going to be a virtual meeting, via Zoom or something like that. But the conditions of his probation, you know, the Secret Service, will be with him all the time. The probation department could call them in as witnesses if there is an alleged violation.
That detail was something that stuck with Berman. During their segue in the studio, Bolduan and Berman shared their impressions of the conversation with Miller:
Bolduan: Something so normal and also so completely abnormal about this whole thing. It’s just… We’ve said all along, but just such stark relief.
Berman: The Secret Service could be called as witnesses to find out if he’s violated his probation, just as the Founders intended, as we like to say.
Watch the video above via CNN.
