Lawyers and legal experts protested the conviction of New York Judge Juan Merchan President-elect Donald Trump in the NY vs. Trump case, just days before his inauguration as president, and said the case will go down as “one of the worst” cases in history.
“I’ll tell you how it strikes me: If you look at cases throughout history, not just in the United States, but really around the world, this will go down as one of the worst. This will go down in history as an absolute injustice from the beginning,” Fox News host Mark Levin said after the sentencing.
Merchan sentenced Trump to unconditional dismissal on Friday morning, meaning he will not face any punishment such as fines or prison time.
“This is the end of the politicization of the justice system,” said Fox News contributor Leo Terrell, a civil rights lawyer whom Trump appointed this week as senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the House. Ministry of Justice in his next government.
Trump was convicted Friday morning.
“Trump’s victory in the election has, in my opinion, effectively neutralized this case. And the attempt to smear President Trump, to tarnish him with the scarlet criminal, will only be reversed in a matter of time. And I tell you this with 35 years of experience, this case should never have been tried. It was done for one reason: to prevent President Trump from becoming the 47th president. I want to be very clear: it failed.
Terrell added in his comments to Fox Digital that he is “drooling to go to the Justice Department,” where he will be “very involved in pursuing justice” surrounding the New York case and other cases brought against Trump .
“I’m going to be involved in stopping anti-Semitism and stopping the pursuit of Catholic families, parents going to a school board meeting, and the abuse, the abuse of using the justice system for political gain. So I am I will be involved in any investigation, and I hope I’m there working 24/7 to expose all this nonsense,” he said, noting that documents and correspondence surrounding the Trump affairs “ will come to light.”
Merchan emphasized Friday ahead of the sentencing that the legal system treated Trump’s case as it handles any other criminal case.
“After careful analysis, this court has determined that the only legal penalty that warrants a conviction is an unconditional discharge,” Merchan said Friday. “At this time, I am imposing that sentence to cover all 34 charges.”
Merchan added, “Sir, I wish you the best of luck in your second term.”
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Fox News contributor and attorney Trey Gowdy underscored Friday that if Trump’s case was handled the same as every other case in New York, it shows there is “a lot of bad litigation going on” in the state.
“Time in court is precious. It is a precious resource. To waste this time on a case that even the prosecutor agrees with, you should not waste a minute. So when Juan Merchan says that this case should not be way has been treated, that just tells me something about it.” There are a lot of bad lawsuits going on in New York,” Gowdy said.
Lawyer and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley compared Merchan’s comment that Trump’s case was on par with any other in New York to Mary Shelley’s “Dr. Frankenstein’.
“Merchan appears to be arguing the case in his own defense and emphasized that this case is no different than any other case in New York. It’s a case that will be filed long after the jury has left the courthouse. This is like Dr. Frankenstein tells His being that he is just like any other man is piecing this case together based on a capital offense and dismissed federal charges,” Turley said on X.
Before the ruling, Trump told the court that the case was “a great embarrassment to the state of New York,” while emphasizing that voters “decisively” re-elected him to the White House in November.
Fox News legal editor Kerri Urbahn added Friday that when she walked into the courtroom, she noticed widespread support for Trump on the streets.
“The only protesters here were Trump supporters. And as I stand here now, I look at a square and I look at people holding Trump flags, I look at a person who has a sign that says, ‘Enough is enough. We have voted.
During Trump’s trial in the spring of last year, no cameras were allowed in the courtroom. Before sentencing, however, Merchan agreed to allow audio, which Urbahn found strange.
“It is notable that there was no audio during the trial. There were no cameras, but for this particular sentencing, Judge Merchan agreed to have audio. I can’t help but think this is because he wants the world hears his voice.” condemn Donald Trump because we couldn’t get that before,” she told Fox News.
Merchan earlier this month set Trump’s sentencing date for January 10, and quickly faced repeated attempts to delay and block the sentencing. Merchan said ahead of the sentencing that he would likely impose “no jail time whatsoever” on Trump but would instead issue an “unconditional discharge.”
Trump’s legal team has filed an appeal to prevent the conviction from proceeding to the New York State Court of Appeals. However, the court rejected his request. Trump has also filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that it “immediately orders a stay of pending criminal proceedings in the Supreme Court of New York County, New York, pending final resolution of President Trump’s summary judgment motion, that raises questions about presidential immunity. , if necessary also in this Court.”
Trump in court (Fox News)
“The Court should also, if necessary, impose a temporary administrative stay while it considers this stay request,” Trump asked in his filing.
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FILE – Judge Juan M. Merchan poses in his chambers in New York, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, file)
The Supreme Court rejected the request. Justices Clarence Thomas, Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Brett Kavanaugh indicated that they would have granted Trump’s petition to delay the sentencing, while the order suggested that Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett join Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Katanji would vote. Brown Jackson to deny Trump’s request.
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The US Supreme Court building in Washington, DC (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) (AP photo)
Trump has promised to appeal the conviction, arguing that evidence in the case implied he served as president during his first term, following the Supreme Court’s ruling in July that former presidents have significant immunity from prosecution for official actions while in office, but not for unofficial actions.
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“I will appeal this case and am confident that JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL. The pitiful, dying remnants of the witch hunts against me will not distract us as we unite and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump posted on Truth Social on Thursday shortly after the Supreme Court’s order.
Former US President Donald Trump walks at the end of the day to address the press during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 7, 2024 in New York City.
“Every lawyer has stated unequivocally that this is a case that should never have been brought. Not a single case has been filed against me. In other words, I am innocent of all the judge’s trumped-up, false charges. This was nothing more than weaponizing our legal system against a political opponent. It’s called Lawfare, and nothing like this has ever happened in the United States of America, and to this day it should never happen again, this highly political and corrupt judge has said a gag order on me, which is my First Amendment right deprives us of speaking about very important aspects of the case,” his message added.
Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of forgery business records in the Manhattan case in May. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office sought to prove that Trump falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to substantiate her claims of an alleged affair with Trump 2006 to suppress.
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Trump has maintained his innocence in the case and has repeatedly spoken out against it as an example of litigation promoted by Democrats in an effort to damage his election efforts ahead of November.
Brooke Singman and David Spunt of Fox News contributed to this report.
