Outside the Beltway

Trump Sentencing Delayed Again

Steven L. Taylor
13

Comments

Via NBC News: Judge delays Trump sentencing in hush money case until November

A New York judge has delayed former President Donald Trump‘s sentencing on felony criminal charges until Nov. 26.

“This is not a decision this Court makes lightly but it is the decision which in this Court’s view, best advances the interests of justice,” Judge Juan Merchan wrote in the decision handed down Friday.

Merchan issued the ruling after Trump’s attorneys had asked him to postpone the Sept. 18 sentencing until after the election to allow them to appeal a pending ruling involving presidential immunity.

[…]

Merchan said the delay should help “avoid any appearance – however unwarranted – that the proceeding has been affected by or seeks to affect the approaching Presidential election in which the Defendant is a candidate.”

Quite frankly, denying the public information of this nature strikes as interference in and of itself.

Although I recognize the entire situation is linked to the SCOTUS immunity ruling.

The order also pushed back the date for his ruling on the immunity issue until Nov. 12 —a full two weeks before the possible sentencing date and after the election.

Categories

, , ,

Tags

13 responses to “Trump Sentencing Delayed Again”

  1. Matt Bernius Avatar
    Matt Bernius

    Quite frankly, denying the public information of this nature strikes as interference in and of itself.

    From an institutionalist perspective, I take a different perspective. I think this was the right (albeit frustrating) decision. Sentencing Trump at this point would do more to harm the Criminal Legal System than support it. Frankly, the guilty verdict should be more than enough public information to help people form their voting decision.

    And I also totally see how that’s deeply unsatisfying. But as many people have said before me, expecting anything different can be seen as hoping that the courts will fix a political problem for us.

    BTW, I will also point out that if Trump wasn’t Trump he (and the Republican party) would not be treated this well. This goes to how far Merchan has gone in favor of the defense. I don’t have an issue with this. I think Trump’s treatment should be the standard, not the exception, for criminal trials.

    Which gets to a comment Mister Bluster made about this ruling in another thread:

    If it were up to me Trump would have sat in a cage in the courtroom during the trial and upon conviction duckwalked to Rikers Island.
    But that’s just me.

    The irony is that many right wingers have talked about Trump’s prosecution being a Russian show trial. Leaving aside the fact that we now know that (allegedly) some of those folks were literally paid by RT to post those hot takes, if NY had taken a Russian approach, Trump’s prosecution would have looked exactly like what Mr Bluster suggested.

    BTW, I know those facts won’t change the opinions of our Right Wing readers… which gets to exactly why it’s not worth arguing with them.

    12
  2. ~Chris Avatar
    ~Chris

    The serfs got served a possible king in waiting.

  3. Steven L. Taylor Avatar
    Steven L. Taylor

    @Matt Bernius: I will admit that the appeal part of the sentencing, which I mentioned, means that this is probably appropriate.

    But I have to confess to a visceral, non-analytical frustration that with all he has been credibly accused of, we couldn’t get just ONE of these trials to completion before the election. And being told that the prosecution of justice has to be delayed in some way that serves electoral integrity has a certain hollowness when it comes to Trump.

    Here’s a man who probably benefited the most from justice-related interference (I am looking at you, James Comey) and a man who stirred up an insurrection to overturn his electoral loss and who has done more than any American in our history that I can think of to undermine national confidence in the electoral process. And yet, there seems to be an unending amount of bending over backwards by the justice system to accommodate him.

    18
  4. gVOR10 Avatar
    gVOR10

    I got nothing to say except god effing dammit. Not even the pretense of rule of law if the defendant is rich and politically connected

    9
  5. Lounsbury Avatar
    Lounsbury

    @Matt Bernius: On both political and institutional fronts it is rather better to run the clock – political if this were t occur now you would utterly upend Madame Harris advantage and give Trump a very nice martyr card to play – with no advantage otherwise – the people it convinces politically are already anti Trump and no extra electoral benefit is had either

    Legally speaking from institutional it is rather better to have a solid resolution with his appeals addressed in institutionally robust fashions.

    Judge Merchan is quite judiscious here and that is properly prudent – legally and politically

    @gVOR10: You have no idea what lack of rule of law is if a mere delay you call not a pretence.

    Come live in some real lack of rule of law countries and you’ll learn not to engage in hysterical exaggeration.

    6
  6. Scott Avatar
    Scott

    @Steven L. Taylor:

    who has done more than any American in our history that I can think of to undermine national confidence in the electoral process.

    Never mind the electoral process, how about the exposing the judicial system for its brokenness.

    5
  7. Mister Bluster Avatar
    Mister Bluster

    Trump campaign says the former president believes ‘anyone convicted of a crime’ should be jailed
    Asked if Trump’s view on jail time for convicts relates to his own conviction, Trump’s campaign replied “Of course not fool”!

    Some of the above is false. You figure it out.

    2
  8. Charley in Cleveland Avatar
    Charley in Cleveland

    Have to agree that the conviction gives reasonable voters all the information they need. Trump won’t be sentenced to prison anyway, and he certainly would have played the martyr card even if he was just slapped with probation. But I agree most of all that no single person has done more to undermine our electoral system and justice system than this odious, delusional grifter.

    6
  9. Scott F. Avatar
    Scott F.

    @Steven L. Taylor:
    With a minor edit, what you posted on a previous thread today applies:

    “neither our media nor our political system nor our judicial system is designed to deal with a far right authoritarian party”

    I think it is obvious that it is too late for this election cycle to do much about the structural dysfunction other than point to it with some outrage. But, my god, if this current situation isn’t the wake-up call you’ve been saying is necessary for change, than I don’t know what short of societal collapse will spur action.

    8
  10. Kathy Avatar
    Kathy

    It’s the special treatment, excessive deference, and the fucking chutzpah to complain his crimes aren’t whitewashed enough by the courts that I find infuriating.

    10
  11. Kingdaddy Avatar
    Kingdaddy

    Gosh, what a naive person I must be, to expect the judicial system to operate without regard to political considerations. And surely there must be a bright, well-understood, well-reasoned, widely-accepted line separating too close to the election and not too close to the election. What was that expiration date again, exactly? I forgot to circle it on my calendar.

    5
  12. Lounsbury Avatar
    Lounsbury

    @Kingdaddy: Apparently you are the sort of naive person who also does not understand law nor judicial process as well.

    Regardless, Judge Merchan has shown himself to be a very prudent and capable judge with a very good eye on making sure his entire processes are well armoured against procedural appeals. His prudence and care certainly are not pleasing the Lefties here who want in effect partisan speed action but is for the long-term solidity of results and real actual rule of law, useful.

    And in any case a rapid action here or on any of the cases you should be happy not to have any result that up-ends Madame Harris campaign strategy or hands Trump exploitable martyr cards to play (which such would do – of course the Lefty Left lot here dismiss but you are the baked-in-opposition).

    Madame Harris is playing a very good game right now, and Trump’s bizarre performance yesterday possibly opening up another libel action from Ms Carrol is in your favour – a sentancing in the face of Trump exploiting every procedural legal hook to appeal and delay would give you nothing in fct but handing Trump a means to distract. An empty sugar high for mob justice

    Merchan’s judiscious action maintains the acid-bath of anticipation on Trump’s mentality (again see Trump rants, resurfaces sexual assault allegations for 49 unfocused minutes which is perfect as while there is no new martydom to play, he rants, he is incoherent and it’s distracting from any attacks on Harris [thus the panic of the Trump-aligned Rs]).

    2
  13. Jack Avatar
    Jack

    https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2024/09/07/doj-chief-of-public-affairs-says-alvin-bragg-case-against-trump-was-a-perversion-of-justice-n3794211

Latest Posts