George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said that New York judge, Juan Merchan’s handling of Trump’s hush money case i screaming out for an appellate review in light of the numerous odd rulings he made in the case. Personally, I think his position as a judge in New York should be reviewed and that he should be demoted to janitor if not lower. He is violation of New York law in two ways. One, he refuses to hand over his financial records and two, he oversaw a case which profited his daughter.
Merchan delayed Trump’s sentencing hearing from Sept. 18 to Nov. 26 in a Friday ruling, he claims because he did not want it to interfere in the election, but it i more likely afraid that it would benefit Trump in the upcoming election. Professor Turley says that the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity may very well make Trump’s convictions invalid.
Turley said:
“This is not what you’ve come to expect from Judge Merchan. I sat in that courtroom and, quite frankly, I was baffled by many of his decisions. I felt he made some rulings that were clearly in error, he ruled largely in favor of the prosecution and against the former president. That is the reason I think there are aspects of this trial which are really screaming for appellate review. But this is the correct decision.”
“I mean, he not only has a lot of work to do, because… this is a very difficult question about whether the Supreme Court decision will invalidate this conviction. I’ve always believed that he would ultimately uphold the conviction, but he can’t just do that with a wave of his hand. He’s going to have to explain why clearly privileged evidence that he let into the trial was not determinative, was not essential to any conviction. I think that’s the argument that he’s likely to embrace.”
“There is an interesting dynamic here with the timing that may actually work in a strange way to help Merchan not impose jail time. If Donald Trump is elected president, Merchan could use that fact to say that the court is aware of the complications of a person who must carry out the duties of his office now as the president-elect and it could support his not imposing jail time.”
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL“In some ways it would help him take that cup from his lips and say that I’m going to impose other types of penalties. So, there’s a curious aspect to all of this timing that might make it easier for Merchan not to impose an actual prison sentence.”
'A Lot Of Work To Do': Jonathan Turley Reacts To Merchan Delaying Trump Sentencing Until After Election pic.twitter.com/3ignPOrgut
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 6, 2024
Bragg’s team called former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks to testify about the Trump campaign’s response to the 2016 tape of a conversation between Trump and “Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush during the trial centered around a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Turley earlier noted that by delaying the sentencing, Merchan could find a reason not to sentence Trump to jail.
