Judge to Decide Whether Trump's Hush Money Conviction Can Stand
Source: US News and World Report/Reuters
Nov. 10, 2024, at 7:16 a.m.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York judge is set to decide this week whether President-elect Donald Trump's criminal conviction on charges involving hush money paid to a porn star should be overturned in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's July ruling on presidential immunity.
Justice Juan Merchan has said he will make his decision by Tuesday. It is the first of two pivotal choices that the judge must make after Trump's Nov. 5 election victory. Merchan also must decide whether to go ahead with sentencing Trump on Nov. 26 as currently scheduled. Legal experts have said sentencing now is unlikely to happen ahead of Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration.
A favorable ruling by Merchan for Trump on the immunity question or a sentencing delay would pave the way for him to return to the White House largely unencumbered by any of the four criminal cases that once appeared to threaten his ambitions to win back the White House.
Officials at the U.S. Justice Department are assessing how to wind down the two federal criminal cases brought against Trump by Special Counsel Jack Smith due to its longstanding policy against prosecuting a sitting president. A separate case in Georgia involving state criminal charges concerning Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss remains in limbo.
Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2024-11-10/judge-to-decide-whether-trumps-hush-money-conviction-can-stand
None of that had anything to do with "official duties".
From the article -
XanaDUer2
(14,322 posts)He always does
CapnSteve
(261 posts)...time to be served starting January 20th , 2029?
I have a dream...
niyad
(120,388 posts)no_hypocrisy
(49,023 posts)An official duty of a President.
And if it were, Stormy Daniels shouldnt have to pay for defamation as you cant defame the U.S. Government.
Historic NY
(37,967 posts)will he nullify the jury's decision
groundloop
(12,333 posts)The orange motherfucker will never see the inside of a prison cell, so anything else is just semantics.
William Seger
(11,069 posts)IMO, there is absolutely no reason to respect the office of President after a majority of voters decided to trash it. If I were the judge, he'd get the maximum sentence just as a matter of principle, and let his lawyers and the Supreme Court take if from there -- let them take responsibility for trashing our legal system, too.
Hope22
(3,019 posts)The rest of us will continue stopping at stop signs, paying our child support, never missing a tax deadline, jumping to answer IRS letters, yielding at yield signs and so much more. He makes a mockery of those of us who follow laws and foster loving community and a strong society! He has made a mockery of our society time and again!
NotHardly
(1,272 posts)republianmushroom
(17,920 posts)cstanleytech
(27,110 posts)After all, there isn't anything in the Constitution that says he can't serve as President while in prison just as much as there isn't anything that can prevent a convicted felon from running for office.
Justice matters.
(7,559 posts)And since there's a delay between the sentence to prison and the report to that prison date, and probably a stay up until his corrupt court's final exoneration, I will believe in nobody is above the law when I'll see it (which will probably be never).
LibinMo
(561 posts)I hit the wrong button
cstanleytech
(27,110 posts)oasis
(51,732 posts)cstanleytech
(27,110 posts)ZonkerHarris
(25,342 posts)Shipwack
(2,329 posts)Merchan is just being publicly neutral about a case that is currently under review.
Of course hes going to consider Trumps claims of immunity. He considered all of Trumps various other claims, too, before ruling against them.
Merchan has made any egregious rulings so far. Lets wait before pulling out the pitchforks.
Retrograde
(10,697 posts)$1000 per conviction. Heck, make it $10,000 or $100,000 - its not like New York will ever see the money
homegirl
(1,550 posts)satisfied with 30 days for each of the 34 guilty judgements. Almost three years in Sing Sing!
jmowreader
(51,552 posts)Would there be an issue with Judge Merchan just fining the living shit out of Trump to close out the hush money trial and the Georgia and federal cases being continued until January 21, 2029? While it may be DoJ policy to not prosecute a sitting president he isn't one now so the New York court system could do it.
BumRushDaShow
(143,374 posts)have indicated that for the "hush money" case, these types of charges rarely result in a prison sentence - and particularly when they are a first time offense. Because the "fraud" was associated with "election interference", that "extra" was what transformed what would have been misdemeanor charges, into felony ones (i.e., checks written with the fraudulent intent to quash bad info ahead of an election, so "in furtherance of another crime" ).
Regarding the GA case, I don't know how a state would want to selectively give up "states rights" because if that is the case, then what is the point of state laws?
The federal cases will be going bye bye when the new AG decides to completely drop them.
bluestarone
(18,330 posts)NO BOND!
twogunsid
(1,627 posts)...postpone sentencing until he serves his term.
But, yeah, he's gonna get off free.
Takket
(22,611 posts)Im not so naive that I think hell ever serve a day in prison BUT there is nothing about the SCOTUS ruling that says drumpf should be let go for this. If SCOTUS wants to destroy democracy and turn drumpf into a king, and I was a judge, I would make them do their OWN DIRTY WORK. SCOTUS will toss any conviction of that Im sure. But Marchan should make sure that is on their record. Not his.
And I agree with other posters who says he should just delay sentencing until after drumpfs term. Let him spend the next four years knowing hes going to prison when hes done destroying America.
Think. Again.
(18,548 posts)MichMan
(13,374 posts)David Boyle
(488 posts)jmerchan@nycourts.gov
Why not?
genxlib
(5,710 posts)But there is a lot of nonsense here.
They are done. The court cases will all implode over the next few weeks.
I know you guys think it would be patriotic for Merchan to continue but it would be suicidal for him, the party and the Country.
If you think he is going to put his safety and freedom on the line to try and rescue us after 75 million people said otherwise, you are crazy.
For what purpose? Even in your wildest dream, he spends a few months in prison before all of it gets unwound. Meanwhile, he would emerge with a strengthened mythology, narrative and thirst for vengeance. Just writing it out reads like an origin story for a super villain.
Merchan has been given an out by the Supreme Court. If he is smart, he will take it. At most I would expect some half measure to keep the court case intact without any ramifications (ie still a felon but no actual punishment) But I don't think that will be the case. What I really expect is a dismissal with a strongly worded statement about being a terrible day for justice, law and order etc.
Call me crazy but it is tilting at windmills to expect otherwise.