Mr. Trump’s lawyers requested the delay in part to allow more time to challenge his conviction on charges that he had falsified records to cover up a hush-money payment to a porn star in the final days of the 2016 campaign. Mr. Trump’s lawyers also argued that it was improper for Mr. Trump to face sentencing so close to the Nov. 5 election, in which he will face off against Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidency....
Justice Merchan has already rescheduled the sentencing once. It was originally set for July 11, but Justice Merchan pushed it back while he weighed Mr. Trump’s bid to overturn his conviction, an effort that hinges on the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision granting Mr. Trump broad immunity for official acts as president. Justice Merchan is scheduled to rule on the immunity issue on Sept. 16, just two days before sentencing, providing Mr. Trump with little runway to appeal, assuming the judge upholds the conviction.
It's hard to believe Trump won't win the delay. The NYT says there will be accusations — from whom? — about the "rule of law" if the judge grants the delay, but it doesn't cite any legal rule that the prosecutors are invoking. We're told "they deferred to the judge on whether to delay his sentencing past Election Day."
ADDED: That link on "deferred to the judge" goes to a NYT article from mid-August that says "Manhattan prosecutors left the politically fraught decision of when to sentence Donald J. Trump in his criminal hush-money case to a judge, declining to endorse or oppose the former president’s request to postpone until after the November election."
UPDATE: The judge delayed the sentencing until after the election.
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55 comments:
Ooooh! Such a moral dilemma!
Lock him up
You’ve got to admire the Democrats for sticking to their story that the lawfare and the assassination attempt are just random, unconnected events. This campaign of Soviet style election rigging and un-personing, including the Politburo style nomination of Harris, is obviously an ongoing conspiracy directed by the DNC/Intel cartel. Yes, this is a conspiracy theory, and it’s also true.
60 day rule?
no reasonable prosecutor?
i guess Those things were for Democrat Party members?
It would be out of character if Merchan didn't proceed with sentencing, no? He must do it to maintain his cruel neutrality in the matter.
Got to agree with Howard...Merchan needs to be locked up.
This case was totally rigged. Marchan (I refuse to call him a judge) will not only sentence Trump on September 18th (3 years), but will immediately order the Department of Corrections to take custody of the prisoner Donald Trump.
The reversible errors in this case are manifest and numerous, but Marchan is a political operative wearing a robe.
Once Trump is booked into Rikkers Island, the NY appellate court will immediately release him or the prison is stormed and the mob sets him free.
The Left plays for keeps and they will do anything to stop Trump. Threat to democracy, a dictator, doncha know.
Lock up someone for a non existent crime in Gotham
Everything that's been done to Trump since he announced his candidacy for 2016 has been meddling in the election.
9/10 - Trump-Harris debate
9/16 - hearing re: lawfare
9/18 - sentencing by lawfare
These are related and provide a basis for irresponsible speculation on what we could possibly see in this "to be historic" fortnight. By 10/01, who will be in the lead? What outside events might come to bear on the outcome in the November final tally? This will begin to be accumulated far earlier than November, of course. Should Trump win from jail, how will the world react? How will you react? I'm only sure that I'm not sure how I will react to all this.
I also refuse to spell Merchan’s name correctly.
Why is the NYT referring to the judge as Justice Merchan throughout the article, instead of doing what the NYT often does and does entirely to President Trump and use Mr. Merchan?
The NYT says there will be accusations — from whom? — about the "rule of law" if the judge grants the delay
From whom? From the NYT, of course.
The imprisonment of Trump will be the political equivalent of the assassination of the Archduke that started WW1.
Preferably in Guantanamo.
Hunter Biden is scheduled for sentencing Dec. 16th.
"Why is the NYT referring to the judge as Justice Merchan throughout the article, instead of doing what the NYT often does and does entirely to President Trump and use Mr. Merchan?"
I think they are following a standard rule for judges. I did a quick check of their archive using the name "Clarence Thomas" (that is, a judge I know they don't like) and found an article that repeatedly referred to him as "Justice Thomas" and did not revert to "Mr." after the first mention as in so many articles about other kinds of people.
Your opinion would be swayed by a kangaroo court? Laughable.
NY state trial judges are elected. It’s all political. What a corrupt system.
The legal system once had a degree of institutional legitimacy that would enable it's judges to make tough decisions without destroying the system.
Something happened.
The left took over the academy, including the law schools, and taught everyone capable of being coerced into believing them that so-called neutral principles were a mask for the assertion of illegitimate power, and that those principles were subordinate to the urgency of the permacrisis of now.
Merchan isn't extraordinary. There are thousands of Merchans out there, ready to judge as they were taught to judge. Badly.
Hes right up there with vyshinky and freisler also that iranian khalkali
If a Republican rightwing DA and Judge had done this to say Harris, the NYT"s would never mention them without saying "Rightwing Judge x, who's faced charges of bias, did Y". The real tragedy is would never have happened in the Republican establishment had acted with OUTRAGE over this abuse of power by the D's. But they say nothing, because they're really all part of the same Establsihment party, and Trump isn't.
BTW, Liz Cheney supports this lawfare against Trump and will be voting for Harris. This is a women who got up before the people of Wyoming and claimed to be some sort of True Blue Conservative Republican. What..a...liar.
Isn't there an appeal to this case already? Any chance Merchan calls up a friend and asks the appellate court to make a ruling before the sentencing?
BTW, BTW. Give NYT's props for mentioning Merchan's name. Nothing is more annoying that seeing new articles or stories that say "Judge does X" . Leaving you to wonder - WHO? What Judge. And what is this "JUdge"? State? Local? US D/C? Fed Appeals? Rightwingers are really bad on this, probably because many are too stupid to know the difference.
I think it entirely depends on how Kammie does on the debate. If she does poorly, as expected, I think Marchan will send Trump to jail, just to get the bad debate out of the press. If she does well, I think Trump will get probation and a fine. That way he will be able to continually hear the press dog himn gor his poor performance.
The question seems to be how best to use a contrived lawsuit to remove a candidate for President of the United States. Weird time to worry about 'affecting an election'. It has always affected the election. All of the accusations have affected all of the elections. As they well know. It is how they work. Cue the surprise that they are tormented by affecting an election.
I spell it Merkin
Well, the whole thing is ridiculous enough to be compared to a Gilbert & Sullivan opera. How about "The Merchan of Menace", is that close enough?
I'm smelling a manufactured October Surprise, maybe to keep on hand just in case Trump wins too Bigly at the debate.
Thank you for checking.
I think it will begin a cascade of states effectively nullifying all federal law within their jurisdictions and daring the feds to enforce it. Make them fire the first shots at Ft. Sumter.
Turn DC back into the perilous and mostly irrelevant swamp on the Potomac it always was and always has been.
Pelican Bay would work… if only it were possible.
I say he gets the Ghotzbadeh Treatment!
I think there is a reasonable chance Merchan overturns the verdict on Sept 16, based on the recent supreme court ruling on presidential immunity.
Merchan must know there's a very good chance that the verdict will eventually be overruled based on his assorted errors; especially his repeated rulings that the defendant does not need to be told what he's accused of. It's quite possible that he would prefer the reason for the overruling to be: "Supreme Court let Trump off the hook" rather than "Merchan was incompetent and appears biased."
I suppose his thinking will come down to: How much can my decision hurt Trump's election chances? And: Do I care so much that I'm willing to take the hit when it's eventually overturned?
there is zero chance merchan will overturn the verdict. ZERO. He is a trump hating leftwing Democrat.
Trump will only be sentenced to jail time if the Dems aren't 110% certain their mail in ballot harvesting will win the election for Harris. And it will.
Whose daughter has made $millions$ on the case.
Weird time to worry about 'affecting an election'.
My very thought. The entirety of the legal efforts against Trump appear to have been brought simply to be able to deploy the words "convicted felon"* against him throughout 2024. Look at how often our resident lefties do just that, even here, even among a bunch of people who believe - with evidence - that the cases are baseless and solely politically motivated.
It's so transparently dumb - like a playground bully pushing a kid into a mud puddle and then trying to gin up mockery of the victim because he's covered in mud.
* Oh, and "no one is above the law!" That's the other phrase they wanted to be able to hit repeatedly... despite the evidence that those of their preferred party are self-evidently "above the law."
The whole point was election interference and this conflicted, unethical judge knows it. It's difficult to imagine, as bad as he is, that a Trump appeal won't stay any sentence - even in NYC.
Harry Reid can help you with your thinking on Democrat Merchan: "Romney didn't win, did he?"
Only one thing is certain — whatever Merchan does will be 100% a political decision, not a legal decision. In others words, the exact opposite of what a judge should do. I predict he continues sentencing because he fears (and he should) the blowback from a harsh sentence will help Trump.
G-Pub
Anti-Trump lawfare has succeeded spectacularly in three ways: Making the left complacent that one weird legal trick will relieve them of the drudgery of actual politics, rallying Trump’s base, and convincing independents that our system is corrupt and rigged.
This case is a reminder of what your mother told you, that just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should do something. It’s a lesson children and lawyers often forget.
Considering the other lawfare action of Smith resubmitting his indictment and Judge Chutkan moving it along; I'd say the apparatus behind getting Trump convicted, for something, anything, and given a sentence, proceeds without caution.
Blue states are already ignoring the law as decided by SCOTUS and gloating about it. Trump in orange will light a very short fuse. No enemy, foreign or domestic, will be spared.
I heard Andy McCarthy commenting on the Ricochet podcast that matters of immunity are suppose to be fully resolved before cases proceed since they impact the right to not be wrongfully prosecuted, not just convicted. So, following the "rule of law" the sentencing should be delayed until the immunity issues are fully adjudicated.
But this is NYC courts which are corrupt and activist for The Party.
The right decision would be to overturn the verdicts but there is zero chance Merchan will do that since the charges and evidence Trump was convicted on were already so ridiculous. So, the verdict will be upheld by Merchan. The smart political play here, if Merchan is going to uphold the ridiculous verdict, is to sentence Trump to probation and a giant fine and wash his hands of the matter. However, nothing to date suggests Merchan is smart so I expect a hefty prison sentence and at least a good possibility that he tries to order Trump immediately to prison to start serving it- this won't work and will backfire immediately as Trump gets a federal stay but, like I wrote, Merchan isn't the brightest bulb in the pack.
A lot of voters like a politician with conviction, of which Trump has many (34 at the latest count).
Cute, lefty. All of them are phony but that is fine with you.
That moron Alan Dershowitz says the counts against Trump were bullshit, but eminent legal scholar Rich says they have merit.
With Inga
Oh no,there goes the conspiracy theorists up in here "lawfare" bullshit as the Judge moves sentencing until Nov 26th after election. I believe than now means Jail time is definitely coming for this perp.Kamala will not pardon him,but I believe Joe will pardon Hunter if he gets more than a year as clinton pardoned his brother and trump pardoned his son in laws father,thats what the power people do.Aint nothing you can do about it. Grin and bear it you could always live in Venezuela where the power just says I WON (kind of similar to the last guy here who just slipped and actually revealed he knows he lost(BY A WHISKER) and Nick Fuente is pissing mad that all them people going to jail trump lawyers losing their licenses FOX ENTERTAINMENT CENTER PAYING 780,000,00 FOR THE BIG LIE and now he says he lost by a whisker(and the trump won people are spitting out their pablum... This is what happens when you subscribe to a world known grifter, what did PT BARNUM SAY?
This would actually be the smartest thing he could do.
He could say Trump is guilty but the Supreme Court saved him.
It would short circuit his imminent bitch-slap from the appeals court and would reduce Trump's support.
As will all judges (including Supreme Court judges) in Mexico as soon as AMLO pushes through his lame duck legislation to ensure one part rule again there. Is US next?
Well, I was wrong. First time today.
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