Below is my column in the Hill on the sentencing this week of President-Elect Donald Trump in Manhattan. Judge Juan Merchan waited to schedule the hearing for just ten days before the inauguration, limiting the time available to appeal. His order suggests that, if there is any interruption or delay in his sentencing, he might follow the advice of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and suspend sentencing for four years, a terrible option that we previously discussed. One could call that passively aggressive, but it seems quite actively aggressive.
Here is the column:
At 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 10, 2025, the curtain will fall on the longest performance of “Hamlet” in history. Acting Justice Juan Merchan will finally decide whether “to be or not to be” the judge to sentence Trump to jail. (Spoiler alert: He appears set to avoid a jail sentence and likely reversal.)
Since Trump’s conviction in May 2024, Merchan has contemplated his sentencing options. This was to be the orange-jump-suit moment many longed for over years of unrequited lawfare. They will likely be disappointed. As some of us noted after the verdict, this type of case would often result in an unconditional discharge or a sentence without jail time. That prediction became more likely after Trump was reelected in November. Limits on Trump’s freedom or liberty would likely result in a fast reversal, and Merchan knew it.
While various pundits predicted that Trump “will go to jail” after the trial, more realistic lawfare warriors had other ideas. The next best thing was to suspend proceedings and leave Trump in a type of legal suspended animation. Merchan would hold a leash on the president as a criminal defendant awaiting punishment.
But the whole point of a trophy-kill case is the trophy itself. Merchan will not disappoint. While indicating that he is inclined to a sentence without jail or probation, he will finalize the conviction of Trump just 10 days before his inauguration. In so doing, he will formally label the president-elect a convicted felon.
It will be punishment by soundbite. Trump will become the first convicted felon to be sworn into office, a historical footnote that will be repeated mantra-like in the media.
Merchan seems at points to be writing the actual talking points for the talking heads. In his order, he states grandly that the jurors found that this “was the premediated and continuous deception by the leader of the free world.” He then adds that he could not vacate the conviction because it would … constitute a disproportionate result and cause immeasurable damage to the citizenry’s confidence in the Rule of Law.”
Of course, this did not work out as many hoped. That apparently includes President Biden. Last week, the Washington Post reported that Biden was irate over the Justice Department’s failure to prosecute Trump more quickly to secure a conviction before the election. He also reportedly regretted his appointment of Attorney General Merrick Garland as insufficiently aggressive in pursuing Trump. It appears Garland was not sufficiently Bragg-like for Biden’s lawfare tastes.
The sentencing, however, will have another impact. Trump will finally be able to appeal this horrendous case. It has always been a target-rich opportunity for appeal, but Trump could not launch a comprehensive appeal until after he was sentenced.
Those appellate issues include charges based on a novel criminal theory through which New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg not only zapped a dead misdemeanor into life (after the expiration of the statute of limitation) but based a state charge on federal election law and federal taxation violations. So, after the Justice Department declined to prosecute federal violations, Bragg effectively did so in state court with Merchan’s blessing.
The issues also include Merchan’s absurd instructions to the jury. The novel theory demanded a secondary offense, the crime that Trump was seeking to conceal by listing payments as legal expenses. Merchan allowed the jury to find that the secondary offense was any of an array of vaguely defined options. Even on the jury form, they did not have to specify which crimes were found. Merchan did not require even a majority, let alone a unanimous jury, to agree on what actually occurred.
Under Merchan’s instruction, the jury could have split four-four-four on whether this was all done to conceal a federal election violation, falsification of business records or taxation violations. Neither Trump nor the public will ever know.
Even CNN’s senior legal analyst Elie Honig denounced the case as legally flawed and unprecedented. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) recently put it more simply and called the case total “b—s–t.”
While expectations are not great for the New York legal system itself, this case will eventually go to the United States Supreme Court.
Of course, like so much else in the vortex of Merchan’s courtroom, the final leave to appeal comes at a cost. While Merchan admits begrudgingly that incarceration is no longer “practical,” Trump will now have to appeal this case over the course of his presidency.
When the sentence is imposed on Jan. 10, it is likely to feel comically downsized given the effort. After years and millions spent in the various Trump cases, Trump will likely receive an unconditional discharge and sent along his way . . . to the White House.
As predicted, the two federal cases never saw a trial in Florida or Washington, D.C. In Georgia, Fani Willis was dropped from her racketeering case, which has gone nowhere due to her own misconduct. It is like the Allied forces launching the Normandy Invasion to capture Monaco.
In the meantime, the 2024 election proved to be the largest verdict in history after years of lawfare and biased media reporting came to nothing. Merchan showed little self-awareness in claiming that he was only trying to avoid “immeasurable damage to the citizenry’s confidence in the Rule of Law” in continuing the case. Polls show the public saw these cases as lawfare and Merchan is widely viewed as causing precisely that “immeasurable damage” with his handling of the case.
Given this record, it may be fitting that the trophy from the New York case is a media talking point, while it lasts.
So, Merchan’s performance of Hamlet on the Hudson will close off Broadway long after the audience has left. The reviews will be mixed since few minds will be changed. As the protagonist himself proclaimed, “I must be cruel only to be kind; thus bad begins, and worse remains behind.”
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
Juan Merchan, the man history will remember as nothing more than a stooge in robes.
I very much hope that President Trump is allowed the opportunity to get his convictions overturned, rather than just leaving him in limbo, unable to clear his name.
I don’t think many Democrats understand the harm this abuse of the court system did to conservatives’ trust. Making up a new law that NDAs must be reported as campaign contributions to oneself, claiming that this report, given 90 days after the election, interfered with the election, and the instructions to the jury that they don’t need to agree what Trump did, has destroyed confidence in the legal system.
I would be shocked if that does not happen.
The only question is how long it will take.
BTW this is not the only bit of lawfare I expect will fail.
The Enmoron case will be reversed.
The E Jean Carrol case will have the award reduced substantially and then likely the verdict tossed.
The Guiliani case will be tossed,
J6ers will mostly get pardoned.
Even the Alex Jones awards will ultimately be tossed.
For the idiots on the left claiming that Trump somehow slow walked his cases – The Alex Jones cases started about a decade ago and are still far from over.
Karen S: you are not a “conservative”–you are a MAGA, and, as such, believe the lies shoveled to you every single day by MAGA media, set up and maintained by billionaires to put Trump over and get those massive tax breaks and rolling back of consumer and environmental regulations that they detest and which cost them money. First of all, Trump wasn’t convicted because of an NDA–he was convicted of falsifying business records to cover up payoffs to a nude model and porn actress to help his chances in the 2016 election. The falsification was done after he was caught on a hot mic bragging about grabbing women by the genitals and fears that another sex scandal could sink his chances–that was the evidence at trial. According to “PolitiFact”:
“The crime of falsifying business records is included in New York’s penal code. Falsifying records in the second degree is a misdemeanor, but it becomes a felony if the person falsified business records with an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission of a crime.
Bragg used the felony statute to charge Trump 34 times. The number of charges refers to 34 documents the grand jury found to have contained a “critical false statement” related to the payments. These documents include checks written to Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former lawyer, as payments for legal services over a nine-month period when Trump was running for president. Bragg said these payments were for nonbusiness reasons.
“Why did Donald Trump repeatedly make these false statements? The evidence will show that he did so to cover up crimes relating to the 2016 election,” Bragg said in a press conference after the arraignment.
The indictment and a related “statement of facts” in the case do not name the second crime that turns the misdemeanor records charge into a felony.
During the press conference, Bragg said the law does not require him to specify those laws in the indictment, but he threw out a few laws that might apply.
First, Bragg said it is against New York election law to “conspire to promote a candidacy by unlawful means.” The Daniels payment happened before the 2016 presidential election that Trump won.
Bragg also suggested prosecutors are examining statements intended to “evade the tax authorities” and federal election law campaign contribution limits.”
And MAGA media lied to you about what the jury was instructed–According to Snopes:
“The judge in former U.S. President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial told jurors they didn’t have to unanimously agree on which crime Trump committed for his conviction so long as they agreed that some crime occurred.
Rating:
False
Context
The jury must unanimously agree on Trump’s guilt of falsifying business records in the first degree (he faces 34 counts of this crime). A first-degree charge of falsification of business records requires a “predicate crime” for which the falsification was plausibly intended to cover up. The jury does not need to agree on the predicate crime for a conviction.
On May 29, 2024, the jury in former U.S. President Donald Trump’s trial over alleged hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels began their deliberations. Immediately after the publication of Justice Juan Merchan’s instructions to the jury, numerous pundits and politicians — including Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida — claimed the judge told the jury that “they don’t have to unanimously agree on which crime was committed as long as they all at least pick one.”
This claim was not true. In this trial, Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. For a guilty conviction on each of these counts, the jury must unanimously agree on Trump’s guilt, as is clear in the jury instructions:
Your verdict, on each count you consider, whether guilty or not guilty, must be unanimous.
The misinformation arises from the legal requirements for a conviction of first-degree falsification of business records. Such a crime requires not only the demonstrated falsification of a business record, but also the existence of some other crime for which the falsification was plausibly carried out to hide:
For the count of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, the intent to defraud must include an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof. Under our law, although the People must prove an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof, they need not prove that the other crime was in fact committed, aided, or concealed.
This other crime is referred to as the “predicate crime.” During the trial, Merchan allowed New York prosecutors to present evidence pertaining to three possible predicate crimes: violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act; the falsification of other business records; or a violation of tax laws. As explained in his jury instructions, the jury does not have to unanimously agree on the predicate crime, just that one existed:
Although you must conclude unanimously that the defendant conspired to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means, you need not be unanimous as to what those unlawful means were.
In determining whether the defendant conspired to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means, you may consider the following unlawful means: (1) violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act otherwise known as FECA; (2) the falsification of other business records; or (3) violation of tax laws.
Before Merchan issued his instructions, Trump’s defense argued that the jury should be instructed to agree on a predicate crime as well, something the judge ruled against.
Because the jury must be unanimous on each count of the crime Trump is charged with — falsification of business records in the first degree — for a conviction on that count, the claim that the jury was instructed that they need not unanimously convict Trump, or that they could propose their own crime to convict him of, is “False.”
Why do you keep believing the MAGA media lies? They deliberately distort the facts to keep presenting Trump as a victim, which he is not, because they know that gullible people like you fall for the lies.
As long as he can disprove the evidence against him. Saying it’s lawfare without specifically disproving the evidence is like blaming the refs after you team lost. Loserville.
Remember Ashli Babbitt
-January 6, 2021
Yeo, I will remember forever Ashli Babbitt who tried to crawl through a broken window in the House of Representatives in an attempt to kill congressman, Senators, and the Vice President.
Yep, Remember the insurrectionist Ashli Babbitt.
There is no evidence that She or anyone else sought to “kill” anyone.
Even the idiotic “insurrection” claim is routed in intimidating cogress into not certifying the election.
But why should common sense, logic, reason the actual claims of those involved get in the way or a left win narrative.
Yes, I remember Ashli Babbitt–and the person responsible for her death–Trump, who lied to her and others to get them to try to stop Biden from taking office. Trump is responsible for her death. She wouldn’t have been there to get shot trying to break into the Speaker’s Lobby but for his lies, which are the product of his mental illness called “malignant narcissism”.
There are stupid people who ignore the evidence and think OJ was innocent because OJ said the system was against him. There are stupid people who ignore the evidence and think Charles Manson was innocent because Charles said the system was against him. There are stupid people who ignore the evidence and think Trump is innocent because Trump said the system was against him. Would they ever bother to read the court docs? Nah. They’re too stupid.
Yes, I have read the court docs – Trump is innocent – there is no actual crime .
Please state exactly what Trump did that is a crime.
As to your idiocy – there are over 1000 people on the innocent projects “exonerated” list – these are people who were convicted at trial, with “evidence” by a jury who subsequently have been proven beyond any doubt to have been innocent.
These are not OJ, nor Manson. Further they are the tip of the iceberg. Conservative estimates are that just under 3% of people in prison are innocent.
That is a small but very real percent. And those are people who were convicted by juries were politics and bias had absolutely nothing to do with the cases.
Our system of justice is imperfect. But it is the best we can do. That does NOT mean that we should wear blinders.
When you interoduce politics and bias into the mix – all bets are off.
We have already seen Juries in left wing nut jurisdictions produce completely absurd results.
What the left is doing today is industinguishable from blacm men facing white Juries in the south 100 years ago.
There is ZERO doubt that when politics and other animus is involved that juries get it wrong – often, possibly most of the time.
Nor is it something new.
What is NEW is the exposure of urban left wing nuts as no better than rural southerners a century ago.
Disprove just a few of the many counts against Trump (since you read the court docs you know what the others are):
Inflated Property Valuations: Trump’s financial statements significantly overvalued properties, notably his Trump Tower penthouse. Despite a 1994 document signed by Trump acknowledging the apartment’s size as approximately 11,000 square feet, from 2012 onwards, he claimed it was nearly triple that size, leading to an overvaluation of about $200 million.
Mar-a-Lago Valuation Discrepancy: To the IRS, Trump reported his Mar-a-Lago estate’s value was $18 million. He inflated that by approximately 22 times, between $426.5 million and $612 million. At trial, Trump asserted the property’s value was between $750 million and $1.5 billion, at least 27 times the 2020 valuation.
Use of Fraudulent Financial Statements for Loans: Testimony revealed that Trump’s inflated financial statements were instrumental in securing favorable loan terms. A former Deutsche Bank risk management officer testified that these statements facilitated larger loans and lower interest rates, including a $125 million loan for Trump’s Doral golf club in 2011 and financing for the Chicago International Hotel and Tower in 2012.
Consideration of a ‘Presidential Premium’: In 2017, Trump Organization executives contemplated adding a “presidential premium” of 15–35% to certain asset valuations, aiming to leverage Trump’s presidency for financial gain. Although these inflated valuations were ultimately not used, the discussions indicated an intent to misrepresent asset values.
If you or I did this, for even a fraction of these numbers, we’d be behind bars for fraud.
Like I thought. When confronted with facts, John Say, you have nothing. There are stupid people who ignore the evidence and think Trump is innocent because Trump said the system was against him. That’s you. You think Trump’s innocent cuz Trump says he is.
Remembering when Democrats showed themselves to be the election denying insurrectionists
Happy Jan 6th!
🇺🇸
The American people most certainly heard all of the evidence.
On November 5, 2024, that maximal national jury found President Donald J. Trump not guilty and awarded him a rank decidedly above that of the —-ant Senior Merchan.
Senior Merchan “decided” himself and local “New Yorkers” above the law, above the jury, above America, and above Americans.
Let’s hope those Americans don’t get wind of this.
Senior Merchan would do well to take the hint.
The “American people” don’t get a say on an alleged crime against New York. If any voters’ opinions are to matter at all, surely it would only be those of that state, and they voted overwhelmingly against Trump. The people of other states have no more right to a say in the matter than the people of other countries.
There is no crime against New York. Please tell us how NY was actually harmed ?
I would further note that by your logic the people of New York have no say. As the evidence in the trial demonstrated – Trump was in the Whitehouse in 2017 at the time the alleged crime took place. The State of NY has no jurisdiction over what Trump did in the oval office.
There was no attempt to prosecute this federally – because there is no crime.
The State of NY has no authority to reach out into the rest of the country and impose its corrupt juries on the rest of us.
New York got its say in the recent election. 3.5M new yorkers voted against NY’s idiocy.
An actual jury requires unanimity to convict of a crime – not 56%.
This and the rest of the NY cases were political from the start. If as you claim this is a NY issue – try the case on long island or staten island where 97% of the voters are not frothing at the mouth mad anti-Trump.
Or just do the right thing and toss a case where there is no actual crime alleged.
For hundreds of years in civilized nations – a crime requires real harm to real people.
It is not a crime to not get to know the alleged perfectly secrets of others. It is NOT A CRIME to tell those of you on the left to Mind Your Own Business.
Those of you on the left were free to dig into Trump’s life and affairs to whatever extent you could do legally prior to the election – and you did.
Worse still you not only dug into Trump, but you concocted a bunch of lies and frauds, ad hoaxs – and still you lost TWICE.
Trump did not abuse the power of Government to hide actual criminal malfeasance – as those of you on the left did in 2020.
Trump annoy’s you with his rhetoric. He annoys you because his plaform and policies are at odds with yours. And worst of all he annoys you because he wins.
I am not going to try to analyze the last election – except to not that if Democrats ever expect to hold majorities in the federal government ever again they better figure out why this election was close to a wipe out and why the Trends are running strongly against democrats.
If Republicans continue the trends of gains with minorities they have had since 2012 – 2020 is the last election democrats will ever win nationally.
I doubt that is the case – because eventually parties learn from their mistakes.
One of the reasons those of you on the left hate Trump so much is because he is taking voters from you that you thought you owned – speaking of the party of slavery.
There is not one factor that tipped the 2024 election there are many.
But ONE that I would suggest you consider is that YOUR lawlessness and lawfare Backfired.
That your efforts to “Get Trump” are likely a major factor leading to his victory.
That You have a massive credibility problem.
That voters INCREASINGLY do not beleive you.
You are the party of the collusion delusion.
of the alpha bank hoax
of the lies about covid,
of the lies about the Biden crime family.
or the lies about the 2020 election – you can beleive that Biden won if you wish, but you can not beleive the election was conducted lawfully without blinders
You are the party spying on pro-lifers, catholics, calling parents concerned about the rape of their children in school or the nonsense they are being taught, calling them domestic terrorists.
You did everything in your power to assure that when you targeted Trump – people would not beleive you.
The fault is not in your stars, it is in yourselves.
I would suggest that you seriously consider that your efforts to “Get Trump” are why he is now president.
In January 2021 the odds were that Trump would not win a GOP primary.
While Trump worked tirelessly to turn that arround – those of you on the left are truly responsible for Trump’s comeback.
You made a martyr of him and you said such incredibly stupid things that people ceased to beleive you.
Or as Lincoln said
You can not fool all of the people all of the time.
• Gigi says:
January 6, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Turley: why do you disgrace yourself, when you DO know better….Where do you get off claiming to “know” what Judge Merchan knows, or accusing him of providing sound bites for non-MAGA media?…. And you, Turley, can huff and puff all you want to, but there is a flaw in the load of crap you are trying to sell–
And you, Turley, can huff and puff all you want to, but there is a flaw in the load of crap you are trying to sell–
Gigi, shame on you.
Gigi you have a serious case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. This is once again lawfare at its finest. Get a life
Yet she believes her own Bullsh*t. She is a goddess of Projection and spin. Its as if we have our own “Joy Reid” on this page. Anothe leftist who sadly believes that she has moral and intellectual superiority, which is shamefully the opposite.
She gives validity to the NY case ignoring the reality of its poisonoous lawfare. Fabricated felonies spun for expired misdemeanors and FEC allegation that the Feds passed on. She ignores the blatant constituional violations because she “feels” the case has merit.
Merchin should be removed from this case and stripped of his bench
Is Merchan even a US citizen? I’ve seen no proof of it; Wikipedia can’t even confirm his birth year.
“Columbian National Tries and Sentences American President” would not make a good headline.
This direct and mortal enemy of America should be vetted for citizenship and his various intuitive and indubitable crimes.
I seriously doubt that a Supreme Court judge, even in NYC, is not a citizen.
So, should be easy for some curious “jouranlist” to dig up evidence of when/where Merchan obtained citizenship, eh? They could even ask him; it’s a simple enough question to answer/prove if he is.
Your doubt is not proof of anything.
The Supreme Court is the lowest level of statewide court. And he wasn’t elected to it, he was appointed to the Family Court and then seconded to the Supreme Court to fill a vacancy. Since citizenship is not required, there’s no basis for assuming he is one, or that he isn’t. It doesn’t matter anyway. He’s a legitimate judge, and that’s all that matters.
He is not required to be a US citizen. To serve as a judge in NY one must be a resident of New York State and have been admitted to practice law in New York for at least 10 years. There are no other eligibility requirements.
Mr. Turley, this is the elite justice system.
George W. Bush and John Ashcroft blacklisted over 1 million people – without charge, without judge or jury and without a guilty verdict. Over 40,000 American citizens.
These are the little people that received less than 1% of due process elitists like Trump received! What about the little people?
Blacklisted from what? There is no constitutional right to board a plane.
The singular American failure is the judicial branch, with emphasis on the Supreme Court.
What an absolutely ignorant thing to say. The judicial system is the best in history. Bad apples like Bragg and Merchan do not contaminate the barrel.
Thank you so much.
Please cite the Constitution for a prohibition of secession, upon which “Crazy Abe” Lincoln’s entire unconstitutional “Reign of Terror” was based.
Please explain why the consequences and outcomes of “Crazy Abe’s” wholly unconstitutional abject criminality, from his imposition of martial law to his failure to enforce existing immigration law, still stand, with emphasis on the antithetical and improperly ratified “Reconstruction Amendments,” an ideation derived from Karl Marx’s “reconstruction of a social world” remarks in his letter to his fellow traveler, Lincoln, of 1865.
Please explain why the Supreme Court finally and 50 years retroactively struck down Roe v. Wade, which was illegal and corrupt from the outset, and why the Supreme Court of 1973 was not impeached and convicted en masse for evident bias, partiality, and corruption.
Please explain why the perpetrators of the coup d’etat against President Trump were never prosecuted including, but not limited to, James Comey, Christopher Wray, McCabe, Strozk, Page, Laycock, Kadzic, Sally Yates, James Baker, Bruce Ohr, Nellie Ohr, Priestap, Kortan, Campbell, Sir Richard Dearlove, Christopher Steele, Simpson, Joseph Mifsud, Alexander Downer, Stefan “The Walrus” Halper, Azra Turk, Kerry, Hillary, Huma, Mills, Brennan, Gina Haspel, Clapper, Lerner, Farkas, Power, Lynch, Rice, Jarrett, Holder, Brazile, Sessions (patsy), Nadler, Schiff, Pelosi, Obama, Joe Biden, James E. Boasberg, Emmet Sullivan, Gen. Milley, George Soros, John McCain, Marc Elias, Igor Danchenko, Fiona Hill, Charles H. Dolan, Jake Sullivan, Strobe Talbot, Cody Shear, Victoria Nuland, Ray “Red Hat” Epps, Don Berlin, Kathy Ruemmler, Rodney Joffe, Paul Vixie, L. Jean Camp, Andrew Whitney, Lisa O. Monaco, Fani Willis, Alvin Bragg, Matthew Colangelo, Merrick Garland, Juan Merchan et al.
When you have concluded, I will resume.
George the secessionist
Please cite the Constitution, a perpetual document, for any allowance of secession or otherwise breaking the binding contract.
“Please cite the Constitution, a perpetual document”
’10th Amendment
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to
the people.’
Now, you get to show us where the power to prevent a State from leaving the Union is SPECIFICALLY delegated to the Federal government by the Constitution. I doubt that you will have much luck establishing credibility with your response.
@George Please cite the Constitution for a prohibition of secession, upon which “Crazy Abe” Lincoln’s entire unconstitutional “Reign of Terror” was based.
You first: George: Cite the Constitution/Bill Of Rights for a permission for the Walking Oval Office House Plant, Bribery Biden’s, Reign Of Terror And Error that is commonly politely referred to as ‘lawfare’ and ‘open borders’, by your host, constitutional authority Professor Turley
A Rebel Confederate Constitutional Scholar like yourself should find that easy to point out.
Old Airborne Dog
I am not worried about Trump on this one. I am more concerned about what is NOT going to happen to the Honorable Judge Merchan. Because nothing bad is going to happen to him. He will NOT be removed from the bench. He will NOT be disciplined. The Legacy Media will NOT run stories on what a disgrace that he is to the legal profession. He will NOT be shunned by Polite Society for being a cad, a bounder, and a rapscallion. No. In fact, only good things will happen to him, just like with Bragg and James and Fani and a host of other miscreants like McCabe and Merrick Garland. No, Merchan will be rewarded for his loyalty to the Democrat Party, and he will go far! Look for him to be nominated to a Federal Judgeship! Or, get a lucrative book deal, or become a Senator.
There is absolutely no reason for anything to happen to Judge Merchan. He has not committed any crime nor acted dishonorably; he has simply done his job. The desire to punish him for fulfilling his duties reveals a profound ignorance of the law and the principles of justice. Just because some individuals disagree with the outcome or disapprove of how Merchan managed the case does not justify any charges or punishment against him. What Trump supporters and critics of Merchan truly seek is revenge, simply because the judge upheld the law and intervened in a situation that made Trump uncomfortable. The notion that it’s ‘unfair’ is entirely contingent on Trump’s opinion—he seems to believe that his wealth and power place him above the law, a belief supported by his followers. They are advocating for a two-tier justice system, favoring Trump while denying the same fairness to his critics. Now that’s real hypocrisy.
Already a two-tier justice system favoring the DEMS. Idiot!
Excuse me. He came up with instructions for the jury that made it virtually impossible to find not guilty. Bragg turned a misdemeanor that was expired into a federal crime. Only in NY, DC or CA would a judge even be ok with this. He dragged it out because when he sentences it finally leaves NY where it will get reversed.
Merchan is a Columbian national; he shouldn’t be trying any American citizen. Prove me wrong.
Why should a Colombian citizen not be trying American citizens? Assuming he is one (for which you have no evidence), it’s a non-issue. He’s a legitimate judge, lawfully appointed to the position he holds, and that is all that matters.
Of course he has commited crimes – the violation of rights under the color of authority.
The abuse of government power for the benefit of a family member.
His first duty was to recuse.
Failing to do so he was obligated to follow the law and dismiss this case for failure to state a crime.
He was obligated to either exclude the testimony that Trump’s lawyers sought to exclude or to delay until after the pending SCOTUS and NYS speals court rullings that spoke directly on those issues – instead he found himself in the middle of a trial having allowed evidence that the US supreme court said 9-0 was not admissible and witnesses that the New Youks highect court said were barred from testifying.
You rant that Trump tried to delay the trial – which is any defendants right. And claim idiotically that normally trials happen in months – not in most of the US.
Yet the obvious fact is that Judge Merchan RUSHED and now has his nuts in a vice.
If he were smarter – he would just dismiss – that would prevent the scathing appellate decision that is otherwise inevitable.
Regardless not only did MErchan get atleast two major decisions obviously completely wrong, but he did so completely avoidably,
All he had to do was delay a month or so for the two major court decisions – that he KNEW wer pending that would be directly on point.
Instead he decided he knew better, and rammed full speed ahead into mined waters, and now has to figure out how to get out of the mess he has made.
Should Merchan face consequences – absolutely.
What is the difference between revenge and justice ?
Regardless what is sought and what is necescary is justice – the punishment of malfeasance.
Judges who refuse to recuse when family members have a DIRECT interest in the outcome of a case and p[rofit from one outcome that the judge arranges -should be punished.
What distiguished Merchan from the Luzerne county cash for kids judges who took money for sending juveniles to jail ? Or from Joe Biden whose family profited from his excercising the power of the vice presidency to the benefit of his families paymasters ?
o this is not about Trump’s oppinion – this is the verdict of the majority of the country
George,
You really are an idiot.
Trump has absolutely nothing to lose here.
Do you think that it will matter one iota with respect to Trump what Merchan does ?
There are already millions wearing Trump mug shot photos,
or I voted for the felon shirts
I know this is difficult for you to grasp but people have already examined the schiff that you are selling and found it stinks to high heaven.
Lets presume that in some left wing nut utopia merchan sentences Trump and no appeals court overturns.
How many people do you think will change their mind ?
If Merchan does the right thing and drops this – who will change their mind ?
BUT If Merchan moves foreard and loses the whole thing on appeal – THAT will be a big deal and harm both merchan and the left.
But lets not stop you from continuing to self harm.
No one cares about your delusional defenses of Merchan;’s lawlessness.
They have already measured you and him and found you lacking.
The only outcome that changes that – is if you proceed and Trump wins on appeal – that make s you look even worse,
and that is the most likely outcome.
Sun Tzu: “Never interrupt your opponent while he is in the middle of making a mistake.”
“Merchan has not committed any crime nor acted dishonorably; he has simply done his job”
Wasn’t his job to allow this travesty in order to merch out his office through his daughter to the tune of 6+ MILLION in the family pockets. Just like Bribery Biden merched out the VP office through his son.
Wasn’t his job to come up with a new idea where jurors could each pick a different enabling offence to convict on, rather than agree on just one.
Wasn’t his job to allow a local prosecutor to prosecute an alleged federal offense where the federal government had said they had looked at that alleged offence and saw nothing illegal.
Wasn’t his job to try and aid you and your fellow Soviet Democrats to prevent Trump from running for office. And failing that, get you a measure of revenge.
What you think of as your clever camouflage George, is actually a wall sized display window of Democrat hypocrisy for all passerbies to see .
You tried the exact same lies throughout the election campaign and failed. As did the others here of The Three Democrat Marxist Stooges. You failed.
Why continue the hypocrisy of the same lies?
Please Believe Me, Don’t Believe Your Lying Eyes™ ??? Is that it?
You’re a Cheap Fake Marxist Confederate George. You can’t lie hard enough, fast enough, or often enough to persuade anyone otherwise.
Crying that those who don’t agree with your sophomoric lies have reading comprehension worse than yours doesn’t save your credibility in the slightest.
Now go outside and apologize to all the plants making the oxygen that you steal.
Old Airborne Dog.
He’ll get a spot on CNN.
Floyd: 1. WHY should Judge Merchan be removed from the bench?, 2. For WHAT offenses against the Rules of Judicial Conduct should Judge Merchan be disciplined? Be very specific–cite me the provision and the facts that support it; 3. WHY is Judge Merchan a “disgrace….to the legal profession”? What, exactly, did Judge Merchan do, other than refuse to be cowed by Trump?
I do not think that anything I say will convince you of anything. Perhaps a Harvard Law Professor will strike a chord with you, but probably not even then. Anyway, hope springs eternal!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2Cshjm5kwY
Plus, you can re-read all the articles here about this trial.
Citing Professor Turley: “Those appellate issues include charges based on a novel criminal theory through which New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg not only zapped a dead misdemeanor into life (after the expiration of the statute of limitation) but based a state charge on federal election law and federal taxation violations. So, after the Justice Department declined to prosecute federal violations, Bragg effectively did so in state court with Merchan’s blessing.
The issues also include Merchan’s absurd instructions to the jury. The novel theory demanded a secondary offense, the crime that Trump was seeking to conceal by listing payments as legal expenses. Merchan allowed the jury to find that the secondary offense was any of an array of vaguely defined options. Even on the jury form, they did not have to specify which crimes were found. Merchan did not require even a majority, let alone a unanimous jury, to agree on what actually occurred.
Under Merchan’s instruction, the jury could have split four-four-four on whether this was all done to conceal a federal election violation, falsification of business records or taxation violations. Neither Trump nor the public will ever know.
Even CNN’s senior legal analyst Elie Honig denounced the case as legally flawed and unprecedented.
the violation of rights under color of law,
The abuse of public power for the financial benefit of family.
What did Merchan do ? Failed to follow the law.
Turley has specifically noted that the Scotus immunity decision makes MKerchan’s decision to allow alot of testimony reversable error.
But the problem is far worse than that. The SCOTUS immunity decision was Pending when Merchan decided to blindly rush forward and make his own clearly eroneous decision rather that wait on the courts. The delay would only have been a month, and Merchan could have trivially avoided the quickest way Trump will have to toss this case.
Further Merchan did exactly the same thing with the less public case involving what witnesses are admissible that resulted in Harvey Weinsteins conviction being tossed by the NY appellate courts. Again Merchan bludgeoned forward instead of waiting a few weeks for a decision that would directly effect the case and that could require the whole trial to be tossed.
Those of you on the left CONSTANTLY try to sell some claim that the courts were required to Rush. But the reality is the opposite.
Trump’s attorney’s filed motions in limene Merchan could have simply gone back to them and said – I will wait for SCOTUS and the NY appeals court decisions before proceeding and the delay will be on the defense. That is litterally how pretty much all criminal cases in the US go. That is what is called due process,
Trump’s due process rights were INARGUABLY violated.
You have been provide EVERYTHING you have asked for – over ad over and over, over the course of the past 6 months.
Regardless, Gigi, this is really pretty simple.
You, the Left Merchan can blunder forward and Sentence Trump resulting in an immediate appeal, and eventually a reversal.
The opinon of that reversal will likely read much like Turley’s column here.
Except that will not be Turley but possibly the US supreme court saying – Judge Merchan you are a F#$K up.
Or you can do the right thing and drop this.
It is near certain that you/ the left/merchan will NOT do the right thing – if you were moral and ethical actors you never would have started this nonsense.
“Allegedly” honorable.
The sooner the conviction, the sooner the appeal. Then we can see it laid out for all to see all the mistakes, errors and unusual lengths they went to “get Trump!” Then, how will our leftists friends try to spin it? Will they even admit they were wrong, as they have been about so many things so many times?
The answer is no they won’t. They are mentally and emotionally unstable. They have very limited critical thinking skills and are unable to comprehend their own hypocrisy.
Traveler, to put it more succinctly and bluntly, the left is criminal and anti-American.
Traveler,
That is one good thing about the good professor’s blog. Till now, I did not realize how mentally and emotionally unstable they were. How much TDS is a REAL thing. And to just blindly believe whatever MSM says without stopping and questioning what is being said does display their limited critical thinking.
Look how many people blindly took their COVD vaccines. I use vaccine loosely as they are not, they are experimental manipulation of cellular function. Even as hundreds if not thousands of people were having adverse reactions and deaths, they still pushed that garbage. That just shows how many chumps are blindly willing to follow some bureaucratic buffoonery out of fear. I still see these idiots driving in their cars alone with a mask on. Shameful, we are a Nation of pussies now run by a bunch of lifer corruptocrats.
Trump has already challenged Judge Merchan regarding his “errors” and “mistakes.” The claims of failing to recuse himself were addressed early on; Trump tried that argument previously and lost. Most of the arguments against Merchan and the “jury instructions” rely on conflating federal law with state law, which is not how the legal system operates.
The only way Trump can appeal is after he has been sentenced. However, this does not mean that Trump’s appeal will take precedence over other Supreme Court cases or imply any urgency. It could take months or even a year for the court to decide whether to hear the appeal, if they decide to take it up at all. Turley has not shown any confidence that the Supreme Court will agree to even consider it given Trumps arguments are fallacious and just ridiculous.
Merchan handled the case appropriately by upholding the jury’s verdict despite Trump being elected. Trump is still a private citizen and must follow the law like anyone else. His claim of presidential immunity as a president-elect is invalid since there can only be one president at a time—currently Joe Biden.
Yes Trump has lost repeatedly on innumerable arguments – BEFORE JUDGE MERCHAN.
Prior to sentencing there is very very little that Merchan has done that can be appealed to a higher court.
The moment Merchan pronounces sentence, an appeal will be filed and Merchan will lose jurisdiction over the case.
What Turley and hundreds of other legal scholars are pointing out that you are blindly ignoring it that there are dozens of errors that Merchan has made – huge and obvious errors.
That are near certain to result in reversal.
You are free to hope otherwise.
But do you honestly beleive that the Same NYS high court that vacated Harvey Wienstiens rape conviction because witnesses were allowed that should not have been allowed, is going to have the slighest problem telling Merchan that the alleged crime was a business records violation, the testimony of porn stars regarding Trump alleged legal trysts is error.
When you try to pretend that was harmless error – you should re-read Daniels testimony, at one point she accused Trump of raping her and the jury heard that.
That should have resulted in an immediate mistrial.
That is only one of the many errors.
No, they’ll never admit they were wrong.
A few of my relatives actually disowned me in 2016, because they claimed Trump was an antisemite who was going to send death vans for the Jews. I’ve been waiting like Vizzini from Princess Bride for my apology, as Trump is the strongest supporter of Israel and the Jewish people of any president in history, but that apology is not forthcoming.
If they admit they were wrong, they have to admit how terribly they wronged conservatives, including conservative family and friends. That would affect how they view their own character.
It’s too difficult for many Democrats to admit that they have been the bully, rather than a righteous avenging angel, whether it’s verbally bashing Trump voters, or attacking the JK Rowlings of the world who thinks women are an actual, definable, biological gender, and that female athletes shouldn’t have to compete against, and share locker rooms with, biological male athletes.
“While expectations are not great for the New York legal system itself, this case will eventually go to the United States Supreme Court.”
***************************
What does this statement say about equal justice under law? It depends on geography? When are we going to realize that we need real justice reform in this country. Immunity for blatantly political judges needs to end and juries need to decide with damages if judges are ruling on matters of law or mere personalities. Sovereign immunity is an insult to the citizenry and needs to go like Biden. Judges get too many breaks, legally speaking. You can always tell an advanced case of “robe-itis.” Those suffering from it always begins with “In MY courtroom ….” No, it’s not. It’s ours and you’re just a temporary employee – like holiday help.
Dear Prof Turley,
Trump Incarceration was never ‘practical’. Besides, [Alleged] ‘hush money’ is as common as politicians wearing flag pins on their lapel (they’re always hiding something!) and NDAs are as American as apple pie.
Though this be madness, there is method in’t.
*otoh, Trump will not be able to MAGA again .. . the most we can hope for is MAHA (make America honest again.)
Turley: why do you disgrace yourself, when you DO know better: “As some of us noted after the verdict, this type of case would often result in an unconditional discharge or a sentence without jail time. That prediction became more likely after Trump was reelected in November. Limits on Trump’s freedom or liberty would likely result in a fast reversal, and Merchan knew it.” Where do you get off claiming to “know” what Judge Merchan knows, or accusing him of providing sound bites for non-MAGA media? The Judge was spot-on: “In his order, he states grandly that the jurors found that this “was the premediated and continuous deception by the leader of the free world.” He then adds that he could not vacate the conviction because it would … constitute a disproportionate result and cause immeasurable damage to the citizenry’s confidence in the Rule of Law.” The Judge is correct–if there was no “there” there, Trump would not have been convicted, and you know good and well that Judge Merchan and the jury were not prejudiced against Trump. If Trump gets away with committing crimes, then why should anyone else not expect the same treatment?
You speak of “this type of case” not drawing jail time–you mean with 34 felony convictions? Turley: all of your purchased advocacy for Trump might hold water if Trump, in fact, had not done what he was found guilty of doing. It is not “lawfare”–a MAGA-world made-up word– to bring someone to justice for committing the crimes Trump committed.. Trump can huff and puff all he wants to, but he can’t pardon himself because the crimes were state crimes. The conduct had nothing to do with the presidency, either, so the SCOTUS can’t save him. And you, Turley, can huff and puff all you want to, but there is a flaw in the load of crap you are trying to sell–which is that Trump did nothing wrong–that’s not true, so said a jury. As an attorney, you are supposed to respect the rule of law, judges and the judicial system. Trump’s not worth it.
From Judge Merchan’s own words, he released a statement that this case would often result in an unconditional discharge or a sentence without jail time.
“You know Judge Marchan was not prejudiced.” We know that, how?
Anonymous: Judge Merchan repeatedly did not take the bait Trump tempted him with—endless childish tantrums in which Trump attacked his integrity, the integrity of his family, the integrity of the jury, the integrity of the prosecutor and the NY legal system. Trump was DYING to get put in jail for contempt of court–anything to play the victim–but he didn’t get his wish. ANYONE else, literally ANYONE ELSE would have gone to jail the first time they ignored a gag order, or shook their head during witness testimony, or muttered obscenities that could be heard by the Court. One example from “Capitalism Institute”:
“New York City finds itself at the center of attention as former President Donald Trump faces serious charges in a high-profile trial.
Judge Juan Merchan suggested that Donald Trump may have breached his gag order by shaking his head and audibly cursing during Stormy Daniels’ testimony, potentially intimidating the witness, Western Journal reported.
Donald Trump is entangled in a criminal trial, facing 34 felony counts related to falsifications in business records linked to payments potentially influencing his presidential campaign.
Disruptions in the Courtroom
During the proceedings, the former president’s behavior caused quite a stir. Donald Trump, known for his often unorthodox public demeanor, reportedly disrupted the court by cursing audibly and exhibiting evident frustration. This behavior led to a significant admonition from Judge Juan Merchan, under whose strict supervision the trial progresses.
Judge Juan Merchan expressed his concerns to Trump’s attorney, Todd Blanche. He highlighted the potential ramifications of such conduct. “I understand that your client is upset at this point, but he is cursing audibly, and he is shaking his head visually, and that’s contemptuous,” said Judge Merchan. Additionally, the judge warned about the potential intimidation this behavior could cause towards the witness and jury.
Judge Merchan chose a more discreet approach at the bench, “I am speaking to you here at the bench because I don’t want to embarrass him. You need to speak to him. I won’t tolerate that.”
The trial itself delves into allegations that Donald Trump’s campaign made undisclosed payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, ostensibly to keep her quiet about an alleged 2006 sexual encounter ahead of the 2016 presidential elections.”
Now, Anonymous, where’s the proof that the Judge, prosecutor, jury or anyone else WAS prejudiced against Trump?
I think the appellate court will say it better than I can
The fact is, you don’t even know–you just believe the swill served up by MAGA media that Trump was a victim, that the system was prejudiced, that his prosecution was politically-motivated, that the judge’s daughter created a conflict, All of these issues have been raised and disposed of, but, being a MAGA disciple, you still believe it. And, anyway, he managed to lie and cheat his way back into office, so what’s your point–that he doesn’t want to be known as a convicted felon? The fact is that for you MAGAs, no quantum of proof, no facts, will shake your undying devotion to this pathetic excuse for a human being. For the rest of us, we’ve always known that he’s all smoke and mirrors–a chronic, habitual liar, a vaudeville performer, former reality TV performer, someone who is a deadbeat because he doesn’t pay his bills, lies on financial records, falsifies business records, steals from his charitable foudation, stole classified documents, defrauded people with his fake “Trump University”, grabs women by their genitals and who started an insurrection because he cannot handle losing. He managed to squeak by using the lie that he could immediately cause a precipitous drop in the cost of groceries, and now, many of those who voted for him have second thoughts, because they’ve just found out that he’s going to try to take away Obamacare (also known as the Affordable Care Act–something some Trump voters didn’t realize were one and the same thing), cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and school lunch programs, abolish the Department of Education, roll back consumer and environmental protections and give massive tax breaks to the weathiest people and corporations who helped purchase his “presidency” and who started MAGA media to get him and Republicans elected.
Professor Turley has written numerous articles that the system was prejudiced against President Donald Trump. That’s not MAGA media talking points, but rather the consensus among so many legal experts, that even, to quote Turley, “Even CNN’s senior legal analyst Elie Honig denounced the case as legally flawed and unprecedented. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) recently put it more simply and called the case total “b—s–t.””
You’ve been on here claiming Trump did not score a major victory, despite my, and others, posting articles and videos of Democrats admitting exactly that.
You respond to Turley’s articles as if you didn’t actually read them, but instead skimmed and resorted to insults.
As for the Affordable Care Act, I pay around $1600 a month in premiums for myself and my son, and my husband pays $1300. It’s in no way affordable. Only people with subsidized individual policies, or with employer polices (which are subsidized by their employers) would say health insurance is affordable. My PPO used to be affordable before the “Affordable” Care Act.
Gigi,
Your lie filled diatribes have been exposed many many times.
You repeat the same nonsense over and over – no matter how many times it has been proven wrong.
The reason that Harris lost, the Biden would have lost, that Democrats lost, in this past election, that the MSM – except possibly fox is tanking is because you have been caught in so many lies – no one believes you. Trump’s approval is in the upper 50’s higher than it was before the election – if a few are having second thoughts – more of thoughts most are Harris voters. People are patiently awaiting the end of the Biden nightmare.
I hope that he will end the disaster that is Obamacare that is costing us $2T/decade for nothing.
I doubt Trump will cut school lunch programs – but he should – we have an obesity epidemic in our schools particularly in the lower classs.
I hope he will abolish the Department of education – they are entirely useless and meaningless. Education in the US is a state matter.
Consumers and the environment need protected FROM the government.
Regardless, trumps actual agenda is available here
https://www.donaldjtrump.com/platform
It is not all that long – compared to Harris’s hundred page blueprint.
1 Seal the border and stop the migrant invasion
2 Carry out the largest deportation operation in american history
3 End inflation, and make america affordable again
4 Make america the dominant energy producer in the world, by far!
5 STOP OUTSOURCING, AND TURN THE UNITED STATES INTO A MANUFACTURING SUPERPOWER
6 large tax cuts for workers, and no tax on tips!
7 Defend our constitution, our bill of rights, and our fundamental freedoms, including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to keep and bear arms
8 Prevent world war three, restore peace in europe and in the middle east, and build a great iron dome missile defense shield over our entire country — all made in america
9 End the weaponization of government against the american people
10 Stop the migrant crime epidemic, demolish the foreign drug cartels, crush gang violence, and lock up violent offenders
11 Rebuild our cities, including washington dc, making them safe, clean, and beautiful again.
12 Strengthen and modernize our military, making it, without question, the strongest and most powerful in the world
13 Keep the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency
14 Fight for and protect social security and medicare with no cuts, including no changes to the retirement age
15 Cancel the electric vehicle mandate and cut costly and burdensome regulations
16 Cut federal funding for any school pushing critical race theory, radical gender ideology, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children
17 Keep men out of women’s sports
18 Deport pro-hamas radicals and make our college campuses safe and patriotic again
19 Secure our elections, including same day voting, voter identification, paper ballots, and proof of citizenship
20 Unite our country by bringing it to new and record levels of success
“Judge Merchan repeatedly did not take the bait Trump tempted him with—endless childish tantrums in which Trump attacked his integrity, the integrity of his family, the integrity of the jury, the integrity of the prosecutor and the NY legal system. Trump was DYING to get put in jail for contempt of court–anything to play the victim–but he didn’t get his wish. ANYONE else, literally ANYONE ELSE would have gone to jail the first time they ignored a gag order, or shook their head during witness testimony, or muttered obscenities that could be heard by the Court. One example from “Capitalism Institute”:”
Sorry Gigi – Merchan took the bait and imposed an unconstitutioal gag order.
Trump attacked the integrity of the judge etc. and was proved right. Was Trump hoping to be jailed ? I do not know, but Merchan did not resist to deprive Trump, he resisted because jailing Trump was immediately appealable.
No other defendants would not go to jail. Gagg orders are incredibly rare – because they are unconstitutional Regardless in the real world the authority of the judge ends at the doors of the courtroom. What people say outside the court is no business of the court.
Even inside the court judges routinely tolerate defendants that are rude insulting abusive – a significant portion of defendants are mentally ill and having failed to deal with them via institutionalization for over a century and for the last century discovering that leaving them on the streets may be worse, we now incarcerate them. regardless,m even mentally healthy defendants routinely insult the court in court and are disruptive. And beyond some judicial threats and a stern talking to they see no other consequences.
Conversely inside the court room Trump’s conduct was examplary. On the court house steps Trump told it like it is – to the extent the gagg order allowed and had others not subject to the gagg order to fill in the details.
Most of us recognize petty tyrants when we see them – most judges are petty tyrants. But most restrin themselves when they are in the spotlight,
Merchan did not.
You clearly have never been to court. People shake their heads at witness testimony all the tim
I did not bother reading you comment as you are not a lawyer. But, hey! Trump won the election! Both the popular vote and the electoral college. It was certified today! And in just two weeks, Trump will be the 47th president!!
How marvelous!
Trump LIED—-78% of voters said that the cost of groceries was the #1 issue. Trump said that he would immediately bring the cost down precipitously-that was a big fat lie, but people believed it. Now many of them regret falling for yet another lie.
A malignant narcissist like Trump has no conscience— they will do whatever is necessary to get what they want. Preying on the concerns of people who are worried about affording groceries just to get their votes doesn’t bother him in the slightest. Neither do his racist lies about Kamala Harris or the lies about migrants. No, a chronic habitual liar deliberately lying about being able to immediately bring a sharp drop in grocery prices just to get worried people to vote for him is NOT “marvelous”. It is immoral- a word that aptly describes Trump— a clueless loser who exists to feed his massive ego.
America is in big trouble. There are perilous times ahead, especially for the economy, which, if he gets away with cutting taxes for the wealthy, deporting millions of migrants, setting up concentration camps, enacting tariffs and eliminating the debt ceiling will cause the economy to crash and burn.
@Gigi: What was the specific crime Trump committed that the unanimous jury agreed on? Left unanswered demonstrates one of the many reasons the verdict will be overturned. Once again what you believe will not occur. Trump is not a felon and never was. The left proves it doesn’t respect the Rule of Law.
S. Meyer, you must be very confused. Trump was found guilty by a jury after hearing evidence of the crimes. He’s already been convicted by a jury. Denial is not a substitute for reality.
You can look up the specific crime all you need is google.
There was no unanimous decision. The judge made it very easy for Trump to be found guilty. Trump also was not allowed to defend himself. Then the ‘judge’ gagged him AFTER the trial.
You defend yourself IN COURT, WITH ADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE, PRESENTED BY YOUR ATTORNEY–not in front of television cameras. Trump was not deprived of the ability to defend himself. He had counsel. What he didn’t have was any defense. Excerpted from “CBS News”, 6/25/24:
New York judge lifts parts of Trump gag order, allowing him to comment on jury and witnesses
By Graham Kates
Updated on: June 25, 2024 / 1:59 PM EDT / CBS News
The New York judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s “hush money” prosecution partially lifted a gag order that limited what he could say about those involved in the case, saying Trump can now speak about witnesses and the jury, as long as he doesn’t reveal jurors’ identities.
The decision by Justice Juan Merchan leaves in place restrictions limiting Trump’s ability to comment on prosecutors, court staff and their families. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office did not object to lifting the limits on comments about witnesses, but urged Merchan to keep the other portions of the order in place, including restrictions on commenting on the jury at least through sentencing on July 11.
Merchan wrote that it was his “strong preference” to protect jurors from further public comment by Trump, but can no longer bar him from talking about them generally now that the trial is over. However, he left in place a provision preventing disclosure of personal information about them, including their identities.
“[T]here is ample evidence to justify continued concern for the jurors,” Merchan wrote.
Under the gag order, Trump has been able to criticize Merchan and Bragg themselves, but cannot target others who work for them or their families. Merchan justified maintaining those protections until sentencing, writing that they “must continue to perform their lawful duties free from threats, intimidation, harassment, and harm.””
What MAGA media told you Trump couldn’t defend himself? What he was prohibited from doing was trying to intimidate jurors and court staff by his childish tantrums in front of television cameras. We’ve all seen what he can get his loyal followers to do when he lies–that proof happened 4 years ago today. People died because of his lies and his ego, and that is a disgrace.
JURY got to pick from 3 crimes(unanimous-no way) SLEAZY JUDGE!
“You can look up the specific crime all you need is google.”
George Svelaz, your comment reflects your misunderstanding of how information is accessed. Using Google often provides inadequate results rather than detailed or reliable information. Additionally Trump’s case will ultimately be resolved in his favor, either by an appellate court or the Supreme Court. Be careful when making poorly researched comments because that is what stupid people do.
S. Meyer, “ Using Google often provides inadequate results rather than detailed or reliable information.”
So you don’t know how to use google. I’m not surprised. Or you just don’t want to find out that you’re wrong. Google works when YOU know where to look and what sources you want. If you want detailed information you can literally go to the NY court website and look up the case and all the proceedings online. Absolutely nothing stops you from doing it yourself. What is apparent is that you won’t understand what you’re looking at because you’re too ignorant or stupid to comprehend what you seek. OR…you just don’t want to know the truth because you don’t want to know how wrong you are. Denial is your safe space it seems.
Go ahead, George Svelaz. Look up the case online and everything written about it. Then, inform us of what Trump was found guilty of. Are you as ignorant as Gigi? For a conviction to stand after all the appeals, the jurors must have been unanimous for each charge. I love how you double down on your stupidity.
S. Meyer,
That is why I want to see the conviction happen. Then the appeal can happen and they will highlight all the errors as the good professor has pointed out. An overturn by the appeals court or even the SC would be a disaster to both Bragg and Merchan reputations as it should be.
We agree Upstate, but are forced to listen to George Svelaz and Gigi who have the intellect of an invertebrate.
THIS type of a case is only a misdemeanor GIGI!!!
And never prosecuted.
Juries are very often given multiple potential crimes from which to choose–it is sometimes called “lesser included offenses”. The same conduct could be found to violate several different statutes. The jury in this case found Trump liable for felonies.
“Juries are very often given multiple potential crimes from which to choose–it is sometimes called “lesser included offenses”. “
What you don’t know kills all your arguments. Juries must be unanimous on each charge. Why you comment without this basic knowledge is an Enigma to me.
The jury unanimously agreed on which of several potential crimes to convict him of.
Each crime needs a unanimous vote. That didn’t happen. Look it up yourself.
Gigi, you asked where Professor Turley “got off” claiming he knew Judge Merchan’s motivation. Truly is a distinguished professor of law, who would be intimately familiar with the legal options in this case. He has given his legal opinion of the case, and an analysis of the judge’s reasoning.
You mentioned Judge Merchan’s quote, that President Trump committed “premediated and continuous deception by the leader of the free world.” Just like everyone else, he is allowed to employ NDAs.
An example of “premeditated and continuous deception” would be President Biden lying about the veracity of Hunter Biden’s laptop, which outlined the corruption scheme he ran for his father. President Biden lied about meeting or speaking with Hunter Biden’s business associates. He lied about flying Hunter Biden to deals to collect cash from foreign interests in exchange for Joe Biden’s favors. He stole classified documents before he was ever president and had the power to declassify anything, and he stored those documents in an unsecured garage, gave some to his drug addict son to quote when making those corrupt deals, and gave some to the Chinese-funded Penn Biden Center. By contrast, Trump declassified documents, and consulted with the FBI on their storage at Mar-a-Lago, while his attorneys went through the usual legal channels to quarrel with the NA on what he may keep. He was up front about having those documents, and he had the power to declassify them.
The trend is for Democrats to accuse Republicans of the crimes that Democrats commit.
Gig, Turley does not claim to know what Merchan knows. What he claimed is what was likely, and he is proving correct.
That said it is expected that Judge Merchan knows the law and the facts as they pertain to this case.
While that has proven false repeatedly – it is his obligation as a judge to know the law epecially.
It was also his obligation as a judge to either rule in favor of Trump’s motions in limine or to await the pending SCOTUS and NY court of appleas cases that would establish the law on those. Trial court judges are obligated to defer to the appelate courts – like the supreme court, rather than rushing blindly and doing their own thing.
Neither I nor Turley know what Merchan know.
But both of us know what he was REQUIRED to know and clearly didn;t – or more likely just ignoreed.
Jonathan: Despite your hyperbolic language the sentencing of DJT this Friday will not be a replay of Hamlet. It’s what happens after every criminal trial when a defendant is convicted by a unanimous jury verdict. As an attorney you should know that a jury verdict does not become final until a sentence is imposed by the judge. In this case Justice Merchan has already indicated a sentence of “unconditional discharge”–which means no prison time, no fines or other conditions. That’s because Merchan knows the practical and other problems of sentencing a soon to be sitting President to prison time. Despite all the complaints by those who think DJT should see some prison time and DJT’s sentence should be stayed until the end of his second term, that is not going to happen.
So on Friday DJT will officially be a “convicted felon” and the flags will fly at half-staff at the Capitol on Jan. 20. The optics will be dripping with irony. DJT’s conviction and sentence will not be, as you claim, a “historical footnote”. Historians will record that for the first time in American history a “convicted felon” became President of the United States. That is not what should happen under the Constitution. A “convicted felon” and an adjudicated “insurrectionist” should not be entitled to hold the highest office in the land!
P.S. DJT’s attorneys this morning asked Justice Merchan to stay their client’s sentence while they appeal the jury verdict. They argue “no sentence at all is appropriate based on the numerous legal errors [??]–including legal errors directly relating to Presidential immunity that President Trump will address in the forthcoming appeals”. I doubt Justice Merchan will stay the sentencing. Under normal circumstances a criminal defendant can only appeal a conviction after sentencing.
Here are a few choice quotes from Republicans about this day 4 years ago…
Can you guess the name of each of these weasels?
“Those who made this attack on our government need to be identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Their actions are repugnant to democracy.”
“I unambiguously condemn in the strongest possible terms any and all forms of violent protest. Any individual who committed violence today should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” and, “It is beyond time to remember that while we may disagree, we are all Americans, and there is far more that unites us than divides us. I extend my deepest thanks to the United States Capitol Police for protecting the Capitol complex today and all days.”
“These actions at the US Capitol by protestors are truly despicable and unacceptable. While I am safe and sheltering in place, these protests are prohibiting us from doing our constitutional duty. I condemn them in the strongest possible terms. We are a nation of laws.”
“This violence and destruction have no place in our republic. It must end now.”
“Jan 6th is a reminder to me: cowardice spreads like wildfire… this country needs leaders who are willing to tell the people the truth, not pander to lies.”
I wonder if the person that said that last quote took their own advice and resigned from office?
Naaaa, That would mean you have a backbone.
Gosh, I guess this was a really hard questions for all good Rs to answer.
Some of your favorite R representatives are quoted above.
1) trump always tells the truth
2) trump never changes his mind.
you trump cult members are pathetic.
Gotta keep thinking: What was the DNC’s Agenda ?
They thought that they would win the Election, and to stop Trump from making a Jan 6th scene, they timed Merchan and Bragg’s efforts to Lock-Up Trump before the Inauguration by holding the sentencing this week.
So that Harris’ Inauguration would have gone head without incident. Fortunately Harris lost, but Merchan and Bragg are compelled to complete the mission despite the outcome. Merchan and Bragg will not save face by this move, nor will the DNC.
” … Acting Justice Juan Merchan will finally decide whether “to be or not to be” …”
What would they have to gain? It’s to late to turn back the clock on this ridiculous persecution – It’s Just Shameful.
Hillary Clinton, George Soros received a Presidential Medal of Freedom and Hunter off-the-hook (w/Millions).
What did any of the Others get? (See George’s List)
They got left holding the bag!
Obvously they wanted to put him in jail. This would have prevented him from running period and left the gates wide open for another four years of Biden and installation of both educational wokeness and total control over the economy – energy control, money control, gun control, free speech limitations, all in all socialism would be put in its rightful place and laws enacted to keep it that way. It would take 4 years to do but Trump screwed that all up thank fully.
@Anonymous
Their agenda, as globalists, was to push the same globalist agenda being seen across the rest of the Western world. This is not complicated, no offense. Disregard any pretense that modern American politics still include two American parties. Really. Those days are long gone. They do what they do because they would like unfettered power at any cost, period. Please refer to Western Europe, where they do no have our Constitutional protections, for evidence. If this does not make sense, and no offense if I am wrong, please forgive me, take a class in the Constitution of The United States of America. It is a fallacy to imagine the rest of the Western world has our safeguards – they do not. Not any of them.
We are still a unique Republic on this planet earth. That means exactly what it implies. Those are not ‘free’ countries in the same sense we are. If this moment of fascism in Western Europe wasn’t an inevitability, it was most certainly always a *possibility* given their charters. They never truly abandoned the monarchy over there. This is basics civics. Where the heck have you been for the past 30-40 years?
“SECURE THE BLESSINGS OF LIBERTY TO OURSELVES AND OUR POSTERITY”
– The American Founders
_____________________________
Exactly whose “posterity” is Juan Manuel Merchan?
Juan Manuel Merchan conducted a momentous anti-American criminal act against American governance as a treasonous agent of foreign allegiances.
Juna Manuel Merchan egregiously usurped and abused power.
Juan Manuel Merchan, with great deliberation, conducted a partial and illicit legal assault as “lawfare” against, not a criminal but a political opponent.
Juna Manuel Merchan must be impeached, convicted, and charged with federal crimes, including election fraud, corruption, and interference, against the United States of America.
Prove it.
Give an !diot a platform and they’ll show you their stuqidity.
“stuqidity”
Indeed.
Merchan failed to recuse himself when a close family member had a financial interest in the case.
Merchan failed to recuse himself when he had taken a prosecutorial role with a potential witness to a case he was to preside over as judge.
Merchan repeatedly erred in allowing testimony that was barred for a whole host of different reasons.
Merchan failed to dismiss the case at the start because the prosecution failed to state a crime – even today there is no actual crime – I know this is difficult for you left wing nuts – but a crime is not – I do not like what you did. It is not a claim that you violated some specific section of the criminal code. It is proof beyond a reasonsble doubt that each and every element of the crime alleged was committed by the defendant. Both at the start and at the conclusion not only weren’t all elements of each alleged crime proven, There was not even evidence presented for many elements. As an example Fraud – and the the crime alleged is fraud, REQUIRES proof of actual tangible harm. Bradd did not even allege actual tangible harm. He certainly did not prove it. A real judge would have dismissed at the start for failure to allege all the elements of the crime, and he would have dismissed before turning the case over to the jury for failure to present evidence of each and every element.
Merchan erred by failing to allow a qualified defense witness to testify as an expert on election law. Though honestly he should have barred that testomony AND refused to allow the jury to consider allegations of a federal crime absent a conviction for that crime.
Merchan erred by refusing to allow defense witness to present testimony that impeached prosecution witnesses.
This is just the SHORT list of Merchan errors and corruption.
Each and every item above is reversible error. Several are violations of the defendants constitutional rights.
Violating the constitutional rights of another under color of law is a federal crime.
It is one of the most common federal crimes charged against police, prosecutors and even judges.
And if you do not think that state judges can be jailed for abuses of power – I would suggest reviewing the “cash for kids” cases in Luzurne county PA – these made the news recently as Biden communted the sentence of the judges that lined their pockets sending kids to jail for minor or non-existant infractions.
As noted above – Merchan’s daughter profited from Merchan’s unconstitutionally funneling this case to conviction. Merchan’s conduct is indistinguishable from that of the luzerne county judges.
It is unlikely that Merchan will be charged or prosecuted or jailed for this – but he should be. That is the most effective means to end this nonsense.
Merchans was not going to step down after Trump berated his daughter. rather he set out to gaurantee that Trump was guilty and squashed. This I do blame on Trump for being stupid and taking on the judges daughter in public. No father will sit back and let that happen so you got what you got.
Anonymous, what you wrote is moronic. Try not putting the cart before the horse. Trump mentioned the corrupt judge’s daughter because in any decent jurisdiction and with any decent jurist there would have been a recusal. The judges daughter was making money of off people going after Trump, she is IN THE GAME and ripe for being politically attacked.
She was an adult and a rabid and extreme political opponent; as such, she was “fair game.”
Merchan and his parasitic communist daughter were, and remain, nationalistic, racist, and totally corrupt.
John Say’s argument is wholly without merit and stupid. Judge Merchan was not required to recuse himself at all. His daughter’s role as an analyst had zero bearing on the case. Just saying she stood to benefit financially without proof of how or why that would be relevant is insufficient to recuse.
“ It is not a claim that you violated some specific section of the criminal code. It is proof beyond a reasonsble doubt that each and every element of the crime alleged was committed by the defendant. Both at the start and at the conclusion not only weren’t all elements of each alleged crime proven, There was not even evidence presented for many elements. ”
On the contrary, evidence was presented. That’s what the jury saw, and that’s why the jury unanimously reached a guilty verdict. I guess John Say missed court documents and evidence.
“ Merchan failed to dismiss the case at the start because the prosecution failed to state a crime – even today there is no actual crime – I know this is difficult for you left wing nuts – but a crime is not – I do not like what you did. It is not a claim that you violated some specific section of the criminal code.“
Violating a specific section of a code is a crime. When the prosecution presents evidence of said violation and cites the code that was violated, it constitutes a crime. John Say demonstrates his lack of understanding of NY law by often conflating it with federal law so that it “squares” with his personal definition instead of the one that matters, the prosecution’s.
“ As noted above – Merchan’s daughter profited from Merchan’s unconstitutionally funneling this case to conviction. Merchan’s conduct is indistinguishable from that of the luzerne county judges.”
That doesn’t even make any sense. How is “funneling the case to conviction” profitable? How do you prove she profited from it? This is the problem when you start claiming allegations as evidence instead of using actual evidence.
The need to punish judges, prosecutors, or law enforcement for doing their job because you don’t like the outcomes is what authoritarians do.
“ Violating the constitutional rights of another under color of law is a federal crime.
It is one of the most common federal crimes charged against police, prosecutors, and even judges.”
No, it’s not common. It’s actually pretty rare. The majority enjoy the protection of qualified immunity, which is more common than being charged for violating constitutional rights under the color of law. It’s very difficult to charge a government official with a violation of constitutional rights under the color of law. If it were as common as John Say alleges, qualified immunity wouldn’t be hard to overcome.
My simplistic understanding is that, per the FEC, given an articulable personal or business reason for paying hush money, as long as personal and not campaign funds are used, the hush money is legal and is not “election interference”.
As far as the bookeeping “crime” of labeling payments to your lawyer as “legal fees”, even if some component of those fees is repayment for the loan to pay the hush money, seems pretty damned trivial. It’s his damn money.
My take is that the federal crime that Bragg used to elevate a trivial to nonexistant misdemeanor never existed. Bragg was only able to take this fabrication as far as he did because of the coordination with Marchan and Biden. (Cho Bi Den, an Inchek mole).
Only to the delusional is this coordinated lawfare not pure effing evil.
John, nice comment but I would just add that this judge let the jury pick from three different possible underlying “crimes” without a requirement of unanimity. This case will be tossed immediately by the appeals court or if they are as corrupt as the lower court then the Supremes will toss it.
I assume the appeals court will toss it, but I am never surprised how far the left will go when it comes to seeing the law the way they want. Look ate the three liberals on the Supreme Court, they vote in unanimity on every close call while conservative justices actually use the law and the Constitution as their guide.
John Say: why don’t you just put out a link to whatever MAGA media fed you this pack of lies. Judge Merchan’s ADULT daughter worked for a firm that contracts with various campaigns to create digital ads. She had NO financial interest in the case, and as an adult her work and her father’s work as a judge are not intertwined. There is no conflict of interest. Because Judges in NY are elected, they are all members of a political party. This does not post a conflict of interest either. Nothing you claimed about the trial is true, and Trump is not likely to prevail on appeal. No one violated his Constitutional rights. And the reckless lies about Judge Merchan engaging in criminal conduct is outrageous.
Gigi,
Loren Merchan is OWNER or Cowner of Authentic Campaigns, she is currently the President, and was previously the vice president which makes political adds for the Biden campaign and later the Harris campaign
Her company received more than $9M for those adds.
In 2019 Loren Merchan served as the director of digital persuasion for then-presidential candidate Harris’s campaign
Further Loren Merchan
All of this is Public Record.
All of the above is perfectly legal – to the extent that we know.
Loren Merchan is perfectly free to make money however she wishes – Just as Hunter Biden is perfectly free take as much money as he can get from the leafers of forieng governments or companies.
Where this crosses the line is when Either of their close relatives excercises government power in a way that could or Does benefit their children.
That is when it becomes public corruption.
Merchan was required – not merely by NY’s judicial ethics standards – but by the LAW because the exercise of government power where family members could DIRECTLY benefit is public corruption.
I would note that there are emails between the State department and the Office of the Vice president during Bidens term as VP Begging him to get Hunter out of Burisma and Ukraine and other matters where VP Biden was engaged – as that was a clear conflict of interest and the VP would be required to recuse himself or could have those issues removed from his portfolio as a conflict.
Gigi, this is CRIMINAL CONDUCT – whether it is Joe Biden or Juan Merchan.
I can not “put a link to some MAGA feed” – because I do not have some MAGA feed. I am not repeating some talking points.
Yes Loren Merchan is an ADULT – it is extremely rare for a parent to have a financial conflict of interests with a MINOR child.
I am not claiming that Loren Merchan and Juan Merchan are communicating about this case. While that is possible. It is NOT NECESCARY for this to be public corruption.
This is NOT about what political party Juan Merchan belongs to – though I would note that the rules of judicial ethics SEVERELY LIMIT the political activity of Judges.
This is not about what political party Loren Merchan belongs to.
This is about the FACT that Loren Merchan stood to benefit directly or lose depending depending on the choices of Judge Merchan in this case.
Just as Hunter Biden stood to benefit or lose based on the decisions of VP Biden related to AG Shokin.
This is called a conflict of interests. After Biden/Merchan refuse to remove themselves – then it becomes public corruption.
This is a far more serious crime than ANYTHING that has been alleged regarding Trump.
Gigi, you can beleive what you want, but that does not change the facts.
Merchan proceeded into a trial allowing witnesses and evidence that were ultimately disallowed by a supreme court case that was pending at the time he made those decisions.
Trump’s attorneys correctly filed motions to preclude those witnesses and that evidence. The correct course of action for Merchan was to delay the trial until after the Supreme court decided the immunity issue and then Rule on the evidence in conformity with that Supreme court opinion.
Not only was it judicial error to allow that evidence and to allow that testimony, it was judicial error to proceed – subsuming for himself the power to decide a constitutional issue while the US Supreme court was deciding that issue.
The right to a speedy trial belong SOLELY to the defendant – not the prosecution. The right to due process belongs SOLELY to the defendant – not the prosecution.
Due process in this case means DELAYING the case until after the supreme court has decided the immunity issue and then proceeding in conformance with that decision.
Failure to do so is a violation of Trump’s due process rights.
My argument that Judge Merchan behaved criminally is about 10,000 times more credible than the claim that Trump behaved criminally by calling a payment to a lawyer a legal expense.
None of this is the slightest reckless. Proceding while the supreme court was deciding a constitutional issue of great significance to the case in front of you – that is RECKLESS.
I would note that Merchan had ANOTHER alternative – allow the case to proceed without that testimony and evidence.
It is NEVER judicial error for a judge to exclude evidence where there is doubt about that evidence’s admissibility.
I would note there is only ONE defense for the MISTAKE of allowing that evidence – and that is that it was “harmless error”.
But if the evidence improperly admitted was harmless – then excluding the evidence would have been harmless.
If the evidence was harmless then the DA lied in his closing when he claimed it was crucial.
I would further note that an appellate court MUST take the DA’s assertions as to the importance of the evidence in briefs and most especially to a jury as FACT.
I know that you are clueless regarding the law – but EVERYTHING that the Jury is presented – every word of the DA and every word of the judge are ALWAYS critical and ALWAYS reversible error if incorrect.
A DA as an example can NOT quote the bible in opening or closing or any other religious text – or the verdict will be vacated, and it is even possible that the case can not be retried.
Regardless, my point is that every appeals court will be OBLIGATED to treat the evidence that was improperly admitted as critical.
Because the DA said it was, and because the judge had two PROPER choices – delay until after the supreme court rules, or proceed but exclude the presidential evidence Trump’s lawyers asked to have excluded.
While less well covered the same issue exists related to the testimony of Daniels. The Harvey Weinstein case was pending before the NY top court of appeals, with a decision imminent. The Weinstein appeal was that testimoney of intimate relations that were NOT CHARGED as a crime was not admissible. The top NY court sided with Weinstein.
That means that all of Daniels testimoney was improper and should have been barred.
Judge Merchan did NOT know the outcome of the weinstein appeal at the start of this trial. But he DID know that the issue was pending before NY’s top court and that Trump’s lawyers had challenged the testimoney of those witness. Merchan had TWO possible legitimate choices delay the case until after the pending higher court decision, or exclude Daniels testimony. Instead he chose to gamble that the NY appealate court would rule in his favor – just as he gambled with the Presidential imunity evidence.
He LOST BOTH gambles.
I would further note that Trump was not charged with having sex with Daniels. He was charged with calling a payment to a lawyer a legal expense.
Nothing beyond that the legal expense was to secure NDA’s was admissible. I know that those of you on the left – as well as the jury beleive that you had some right to know if Trump had affairs with these women – but in FACT you don’t. The women were free to tell the press their stories – especially if true. They were free to sell their stories to the press, to VNN to the Vlinton campaign to the national enquirer or to Micheal Cohen. Any choice they made would be legal.
But when they chose to take money in return for an NDA they traded their right to speak freely for money. Again perfectly legal.
Your theory – Bragg’s theory is that they could convince a jury that voted for Hillary in 2016 that but for those NDA’s Trump would have lost.
That MIGHT be true. But that is also irrelevant. There is no right of the voters to know the private lives of candidates – especially the perfectly legal private life of candidates.
Even if Weinstein had lost his appeal – there is an excellent chance that if the ONLY error merchan made was allowing the testimony Daniels he STILL would be reversed on appeal. The purpose of the Deniels testimony – which is self evident from YOUR and lots of other left wing nuts remarks, was to get the jury to convict – not on the crime alleged, but because Trump won the election when YOU believe he should not have, And that is precisely why that evidence can not be admitted.
It is improper to inflame the passions of a jury on issues unrelated to the crime being charged.
The only thing Trump was charge with was falsifying business records. The only thing Trump was convicted of was falsifying business records.
Testimonial unrelated to that is all NOT ADMISSIBLE.
Next – I have demonstrated TWO specific instances where Merchan rushed this case to trial AND allowed evidence that higher courts subsequently decided should not have been admitted in related cases. Cases that were pending when Merchan made his decision.
Cui bono? Who benefits from Merchan’s gambles ?
Loren Merchan and her clients benefit. Judge Merchan is allowed to be a democrat. He is not allowed to make decisions in a trial for the benefit of democrats.
We presume when a democrat (or Republican) judge makes a correct legal decision that happens to have a political benefit to their party, that they acted ethically and properly.
We DO NOT presume the same when the benefit is to a close relative (or Benefactor). That is ALWAYS a basis for recusal. The left constantly demands that Thomas recuse himself. Should a case come before Thomas that Harlan Crowe directly benefis from the decision – Thomas must recuse. That has never happened.
We also nearly always presume that when a judge makes an incorrect legal desision – and Merchan has made MANY – when a judge RUSHES a case to trial rather than wait for pending appelate decisions on issues of significance to this case, and that close relatives or even his political party benefits from those ERRORS and rushed judgement,
that is Public Corruption.
While I doubt that a criminal case against Judge Merchan will be prosecuted, there is a very clear one just sitting there.
Trump had the RIGHT to a trial where improper evidence was not presented. Merchans unnecescary rushing violated that right. That is a SECOND crime.
Violation of rights under color of law.
Yes, and I just waisted my time reading a posting from a real idiot.