There are conversations about the moment
The Justice of Donald Trump in the House of Representatives: A Supreme Court Decision that Donald Trump is Sentenced to a Misdemeanor
It was not possible for Trump to overturn the gag order that is still in place until he is sentenced, so he once again tried to do so.
Of course, Trump’s legal team is likely to appeal the conviction and sentence again — as they have done throughout the legal proceeding. Appeals could stretch on for years.
It was the first time that a former or future president had been convicted of criminal charges.
Trump has argued that as president-elect he is immune from all prosecution and sentencing, after the Supreme Court last summer ruled that presidents enjoy broad immunity from prosecution.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said that a sentencing before the inauguration would preserve the jury’s verdict and the law.
Bragg also warned that any delay would risk punting proceedings for years, until Trump finishes his second presidential term — which would be unfair since Trump himself asked for multiple delays in sentencing.
The sentencing was delayed multiple times to avoid the perception of political bias and to allow Trump’s team to argue the case should be dismissed. The claims were turned down by Merchan.
The prosecutor on the case was accused of having political motives, by Trump’s lawyers who argued it was up to appeals courts to decide whether or not the president was protected from prosecution.
Donald Trump didn’t show up for the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse Friday morning to be sentenced for a felony after he heard about Jimmy Carter’s funeral. He appeared virtually from Mar-a-Lago in front of two American flags, along with his attorney (and nominee for deputy attorney general), Todd Blanche.
I was told this was a masterstroke by retired New York Judge George Grasso after we walked out of the courtroom.
Merchan decided this was unreasonable under the supremacy clause of the Constitution, which gives federal law primacy over state law. He decided that discharging oneself without fear was the only permissible sentence that avoided encroaching on the highest office of the land.
One of the prosecutors, Josh Steinglass, told the judge that he favored the sentence because it will “cement the defendant’s status as a convicted felon.”
The Mueller investigation of Donald Trump’s obituary: Donald Trump was convicted of faking business records to hide money payments to an adult film star
The best chance Trump has to expunge this stain on his reputation is to argue that some of the testimony referring to White House conversations fell under his “official duties.” It’s possible that Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote last July’s terrifying majority opinion in the immunity case, will include this under his concocted definition of “presumptive immunity” and clear Trump.
He would have to ignore the testimony of 22 witnesses and 500 exhibits that the jury used to convict, as was the case in Thursday’s ruling.
Four knee-bending justices (including one, Samuel Alito, whose recent conversation with Trump further tarnished the court) are apparently happy to protect Trump from any legal accountability at all, even for acts that brought conviction while he was out of office.
That means the sentence will likely be kept close to the vest. But it’s now a good bet that the first paragraph of Donald Trump’s obituary will include the stunning fact that this two-term American president was also a felon.
The former president is scheduled to be in a Manhattan court on Friday to be sentenced for 34 felony counts of faking business records in order to hide payments to an adult film star.
Anna Cominsky, the director of the criminal defence clinic at New York Law School, said that it was the least restrictive way to impede the president-elect when he took office.
“It certainly makes sense that there be some finality to this case because as a nation, we should want to move on, in particular as he assumes the role of president, and be able to look forward to the next four years without this sentence pending,” Cominsky said. ” There needs to be an end.”
Defend Trump’s Fixer, Stormy Daniels, and a Manhattan High-Judicial-Centric Affair
A jury in the Manhattan state court heard testimony from 22 witnesses over the course of a month. Other evidence included phone records, invoices, and checks to Michael Cohen, Trump’s former “fixer,” who paid adult-film star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about her story regarding an alleged affair with the president.
The conviction did not have a noticeable impact on Trump’s popularity or electoral victory. He has used the legal drama to mobilize donations for his campaign and mounting legal fees.
