Posted on 01/06/2025 4:39:53 AM PST by MtnClimber
By now you may have almost forgotten that, back on May 30, Donald Trump was convicted by a New York jury on 34 supposedly felony counts of “falsifying business records.” In the time since, the judge in the case, Juan Merchan, has occupied himself with denying various post-trial motions and with postponing the sentencing several times. Yesterday, Acting Justice Merchan issued an Order which, besides denying several of the outstanding motions, also scheduled sentencing for next Friday, January 10 — thus just over a week in advance of President-elect Trump’s second inauguration.
This Order is one of the most bizarre documents I have ever seen to issue from a court. Here you have what on the surface would seem to be one of the most significant, if not the most significant, criminal matters pending in the entire New York court system. It is a prosecution of a former President of the United States, and a man who, when the case was initiated, was known to be a candidate to return to the presidency in the next election. It involved not just one charge, but 34, all of them said to be felonies. (A “felony” is a criminal charge that carries a potential penalty of one year or more in prison.). Convictions were obtained from a jury on all 34 counts.
Enormous resources were devoted to the prosecution of this case. Here is a piece from The New York Times from April 22 with brief bios of the six senior members of the prosecution team. Unlike most Assistant DAs, these were not young people a few years out of law school looking to get some trial experience. Several had more than 20 years’ experience. One (Colangelo) was sent over from the Biden Justice Department to help out. Likely there were at least ten more lawyers in the background doing support work. The cost to the taxpayers of this effort likely ran to well in excess of $10 million, maybe in excess of $20 million. By contrast, a typical felony prosecution has just one Assistant DA assigned to it.
With that background, read this Order all the way through to page 17, and in the last paragraph before the Conclusion we get this:
[A] sentence of an unconditional discharge appears to be the most viable solution to ensure finality and allow Defendant to pursue his appellate options.
“Unconditional discharge.” That’s it? In other words, no penalty at all. Not just no imprisonment, but no probation, no fine, not even any “conditions” of any kind. (“Conditions” are a frequent component of criminal sentences, and can include things like reporting regularly to probation officers, meeting a curfew, not getting arrested again, and the like.).
But wait a minute. The entire purpose of a criminal prosecution and trial, or at least of legitimate ones, is to establish the basis for imposing penalties of some sort. If the result of the prosecution is unconditional discharge, you don’t need a dozen or more prosecutors and millions of dollars of expenditure and a month-long trial to get that. You can just let the guy go.
It was always obvious to those who looked at the charges that this was not a real prosecution, but rather a completely political effort to knock out the leading opposition candidate for the presidency. But up until now they kept up a pretense that it was real. Now even that pretense is abandoned.
As the Order states, the “sentencing” will create the predicate for Trump to appeal the convictions. The appeal will go first to New York’s Appellate Division, and if Trump is not successful there, to the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court. I predict that one of those two courts will reverse on grounds that the purported “felonies” were not crimes as a matter of law. If Trump is not successful in either New York appeal, he also has a non-trivial appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, on the ground that the alleged conduct constituting a federal election law violation (that supposedly turned state misdemeanors into felonies in this conviction) was not in fact a crime under federal law.
Even in advance of the appeals, it is now clear that this case has completely fizzled. Trump no longer faces any serious risk from it. If anything, the whole affair helped Trump in his bid for re-election.
Oh, how I hope they go after Merchan and his daughter for the daughter’s fundraising on the case and for abuse of power under color of law for the judge, for Bragg and for whoever Bragg was meeting with in the Biden regime.
I’m still trying to figure out what should have been written in the books?? “Payoff via attorney to well known piece of trash blackmailing Trump” ???
Mechan knows that he can’t impose any kind of sentence that involves incarceration, etc. He’s just trying to put that finishing touch on the ‘convicted felon’ tag.
At some point I believe Trump is going to still appeal the charges/conviction that turned something even the FEC wouldn’t charge into state felonies.
Nathan Wade was also dancing for the Biden admin when cohorting with Fani Willis having met with them several times to possibly discuss the case against Trump.
Merchan looks like the preacher in Poltergeist II.
I see a possible election tampering & conspiracy charge possible, against Bragg, Merchan, James, Garland, Biden, and whole roster of attorneys in this one.
This was a coordinated effort from the start, right out of Biden’s DOJ, the evidence seems overwhelming.
Mechan needs to pay a price for this obvious lawfare/election interference.
A conviction is a conviction. That’s all they care about, to convince the weak-minded of Trump’s criminality. Then, Gov. Holchul “magnanimously” pardons DJT, eliminating any avenue for appeal to clear his name.
You know, Dean, we have a lot of hotheads on the forum (myself included).
But I view you as very measured and appropriately cautious.
That you wrote the quote you did, tells me that this is a measured approach.
BTTT
This author 'gets it'.
You can refuse a pardon.
United States v. George Wilson
Burdick v. United States
Political lawfare should have little support in this great country. When it happens, it should be exposed for what it is. Political hacks who engage in political lawfare should be punished.
The State of New York is fortunate that Trump (and his wife) consider it their home.
I would give Manhattan back to the Indians
I think Trump wants the record “expunged”...not pardoned.
Thanks, Laz.
Much of the problems which beset our Republic stem from the Left’s general ability to play their “get out of jail” card. The left has been able to get a pass on most of their crimes because they control the legal system in the cities where their political/power base resides.
About the only time power brokers on the Left fear retribution is when they fall out of favor with their peers, the rare federal investigation, or internicene rivalrys within the Democratic Party.
They have been able to do this under the cover of the “no enemies on the left” policy of the old dominant media and, more recently increasing support by the federal intelligence agencies.
I have hope a Trump administration, brought into power by actual competition in the media and peak denial of reality by the Left, can produce significant reform.
His daughter deserves to be doxed. Every New Yorker and US citizen needs to know who these vial grifters are.
This decision by this so-called Judge, could come back and bite the Judge in his behind. This could play out against the person who engaged in this scam.
When the bullet didn’t work, New York’s plans were shown to be not well thought out.
Trump didn’t go after Hillary for the Russian hoax, and won’t go after the Biden admin and corrupt NYC court either, or any of the other “legal” harassers who tried to prevent him from running successful campaigns and serving his terms as President.
Just watch what happens once the GOP again fumbles and loses the House.
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