Friday on Fox News, George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley questioned the timing of the sentencing date that Judge Juan Merchan set in President-elect Donald Trump’s case.
Merchan ruled there is “no legal impediment” to sentencing and directed Trump to appear in court on Jan. 10, saying that overturning the jury’s verdict is neither the sole nor the optimal solution to balance the conflicting interests. In an appearance on Fox News’s “The Ingraham Angle,” Turley explained what he said were the potential political ramifications of this timing. He described what happened as a calculated move that could brand Trump as a convicted felon before he even has a chance to contest the charges in an appeals process.
“I think that the amazing thing about this order is that it’s almost sensing by soundbite that what he’s giving to the Trump critics is a label that once he sentences the president-elect, he will technically be a convicted felon. And that will become the new mantra, the soundbite going into the inauguration that this is history being made, even though the president-elect has had no opportunity to appeal this case, which in my view is layers of reversible error,” Turley told guest host Kayleigh McEnany.
Turley said the timing of the sentencing was strategic and added that Merchan could have postponed it, but he chose a date close to the inauguration.
“This is done just before the inauguration. And the timing, by the way, is notable. We’ve been waiting for him to make this decision,” Turley said. “He schedules it just over a week before the inauguration. And then he drops a hint that if he was not able to sentence [Trump] before the inauguration, he may just suspend sentencing for four years.”
The discussion shifted to the technical details of the legal process, with the professor outlining the subsequent steps.
“It’s going to have to go through the New York court system. And there’s not a lot of expectations left for most of us in the New York legal system. I’m hoping for the best. But eventually we’ll go to the Supreme Court. But in terms of that’s the first appeal in terms of dealing with the sentencing. Now, generally, trial judges have the advantage. The Court of Appeals courts tend to prefer sentencing to be done so that the case could be finalized,” Turley said.
“As for the case itself, that could take years of appeal. It would go deep into Trump’s presidency, and he would have to continue to argue.”
A Manhattan jury convicted Trump of 34 felony charges of falsifying business records connected to a nondisclosure agreement with porn star Stormy Daniels in May, following a weeks-long trial. The sentencing, originally scheduled for days before the Republican National Convention in July, has faced multiple delays. After Trump’s electoral win in November, Merchan postponed the sentencing indefinitely.
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