President-elect Donald Trump cried foul against Judge Juan Merchan, accusing the judge of “corruption.” Merchan is responsible for sentencing Trump over his hush money case on January 10, only ten days away from the presidential inauguration.
Trump expressed his outburst against Merchan and other political opponents through a series of posts on Truth Social. The President-elect wrote, “This illegitimate political attack is nothing but a rigged charade. “Acting” Justice Merchan, who is a radical partisan, just issued another order that is knowingly unlawful, goes against our Constitution, and, if allowed to stand, would be the end of the presidency as we know it.”
In continuation of his online tirade, Trump also denied falsifying business records and blamed the Biden-Harris administration for spreading what he believes is a “fake” charge. “I never falsified business records. It is a fake, made-up charge by a corrupt judge who is just doing the work of the Biden/Harris Injustice Department, an attack on their political opponent, ME! He created a case where there was none.”
Trump has, in fact, been convicted of 34 felonies. The president-elect falsified business records to send former adult actress Stormy Daniels hush money about their brief sexual encounter. For various reasons, Merchan has delayed sentencing Trump multiple times. Some figures in the legal world thought that the case against Trump would be effectively over after he won the presidency.
A hollow victory
That seemed to be the route for Trump, whose legal defense filed a motion to dismiss the case after winning the 2024 presidential election. Merchan decided against that motion and did his best to uphold the rule of law. He wrote, “Defendant’s status as President-elect does not require the drastic and ‘rare’ application of (the court’s) authority to grant the (dismissal) motion.”
Regardless, this doesn’t mean jail time for the president-elect. Merchan’s answer to the case is an “unconditional discharge.” Trump, unfortunately, is neither going to jail nor would he be paying fines.
Published: Jan 7, 2025 01:11 am