>We can’t be sure how the politics of all this would have played if Trump had faced justice this month. But we do know this: Yet another time, the liberal legal project has not acquitted itself all that well in the face of Trump’s bullying and lawlessness, and MAGA’s arsonist tactics very well may, to some extent or other, have paid off for him once again.
Cavane42 on
Once again, the justice system allows politics to affect its decision making, in order to avoid the appearance that politics is affecting its decision making.
ExplorerMajor6912 on
Putin’s playbook. Erode public confidence in the judiciary.
conqr787 on
Merchan apparently doesn’t want to be James Comey 2.0. I guess he’d rather live with the embarrassment of having blinked, than live with the hell on earth that is magaworld all over him and his family.
AmbivalentFanatic on
Hear me out.
Trump is going to lose the election in a landslide. He’s going to be sentenced to prison. And because of this ruling, his inevitable efforts to claim that the sentencing happened pre-election just to derail him are going to be mooted and nullified.
rangecontrol on
the guy commits the fucking crime and now the judges don’t want to influence the election. by committing the crime, HE influenced the election. the judge is just carrying water for the american oligarchs.
MurderBeans on
The prosecution raised no issues with the basis of the delay request, which is basically agreeing with them. It also removes an opportunity for Trump to address the court ahead of the election, denying him another few minutes in the spotlight to campaign (which you know he would).
MagicianHeavy001 on
Yup. Judge blinked.
cobain98 on
The ONE silver lining from this is hopefully he will be in prison on the day the election is certified so he can’t stand at some bullshit rally and command his minions to storm the capitol. Again.
CaptainNoBoat on
Not a big fan of the election being so central to Merchan’s decision. I don’t think that was necessary whatsoever and he should have taken a page out of Judge Chutkan’s book.
Regardless, I hope people realize this sentencing date was probably always doomed, and not because of Merchan. But because one of the appellate courts or even SCOTUS was going to bail him out.
Even Alvin Bragg and the Manhattan prosecutors knew it would be, and they said as much weeks ago when they signaled they were open to more delay:
>“Nonetheless, given the defense’s newly-stated position, we defer to the Court on whether an adjournment is warranted to allow for orderly appellate litigation of that question, or to **reduce the risk of a disruptive stay from an appellate court** pending consideration of that question,” state lawyer Matthew Colangelo wrote in the filing.
In other words, prosecutors wanted the schedule maintained, but also knew there was a good chance if Merchan ruled on immunity and then tried to sentence Trump days later, the upper courts were going to swoop in to save Trump – possibly complicating everything further.
In summary, Trump is getting special treatment as always, but we’ve already seen this from the immunity ruling that has caused this mess.
November 5th was always likely to be Trump’s true legal accountability day. It is moreso than ever now.
ZachMatthews on
Nah yall are missing it. By delaying sentencing, Merchan retains jurisdiction and prevents Trump from rapidly running up on appeal and getting his hand-picked cronies to do some political shenanigans.
Merchan can’t prevent that from happening but he CAN make sure Trump is still a convicted felon awaiting sentencing when the ballots are cast.
Bird in hand.
williamtheblock on
While Merchan’s excuse of not wanting to appear political is weak and, to be honest, kind of embarrassing, sentencing was never going to happen on Sept 18, and even the prosecutors knew that. The reason is because on Sept 16, Merchan will rule whether Trump had presidential immunity for the 36 counts he was found guilty of. It’s expected that Merchan would say “no immunity, sentencing will proceed in two days”, at which point Trump’s lawyers will file an emergency appeal with the NY appeals court, under the argument that if he is indeed found to be immune he can’t be sentenced for crimes he didn’t commit. That’s all correct reasoning legally speaking. The NY appeals court may well say “nah, we agree with Merchan, proceed with sentencing”, but that will take longer than two days, so the Sept 18 sentencing was never realistically going to happen unless Trump’s lawyers don’t file the emergency appeal. So Merchan’s reasoning for the delay is pathetic, but the delay itself was unfortunately inevitable. But have some copium: it’s well documented that when Trump is removed from the spotlight (by sitting at a trial, or potentially a jail cell), his approval ratings creep up with the politically disconnected. Nobody hurts Trump more than Trump. He is floundering every day and getting worse. The prospect of going to jail will be hanging over his head for the rest of the campaign now, which will likely make him even more unhinged. He’s falling apart in front of the world, and now won’t be forced out of the spotlight via jail or house arrest. If I was his campaign manager, I would have prayed for a short stint in a nice jail that I could easily spin into a Nelson Mandela thing.
The_whimsical1 on
Actually it was the right move. Trump would have politicized it. Now the judge is free to hit him with some serious jail time after the election. I think it was a stroke of genius. Trump thinks he won. He lost.
smiama6 on
Biden should ask for Garland’s resignation. This DOJ has been a poodle when we needed a pit bull. Garland sat on 10 counts of Obstruction of Justice from the Mueller Report and a $10million bribe from Egypt until the statute of limitations ran out. He has refused to investigate or pursue Republicans who defied subpoenas, refused to turn over documents, obstructed justice… it’s disgusting that he has been so ineffective. Biden should be ashamed he ever appointed Garland to be AG.
3rddog on
I get the outrage over this, and I want to see Trump behind bars as much as anyone, but…
Firstly, whether Trump is sentenced now or in November actually doesn’t matter, what matters is if he wins the election or not. Because, if he loses, the sentence (whatever it is) sticks, if he wins then the case and his sentence go away regardless of when he was sentenced.
Secondly, sentencing him now would likely benefit Trump. Every time he’s been in court, his poll numbers go up. Sentencing Trump prior to the election would make him a martyr to his cult and might give him enough votes to win. By keeping him out of court, he’s free to continue down the path of self destruction and is more likely to lose.
rocksalt131 on
Two tiered justice system. The rich and powerful always have options. The rest of us not so much.
W1neD1ver on
It’s right because it was combined with the delay to hear on the motion to overturn. If that motion was ruled on, and eventually successful (on scotus appeal of course) it would eliminate the ‘he’s a felon’ argument and add to the ‘witch hunt’ one.
John_Rustle98 on
I’m so mixed on this because on the one hand, the delay takes some of the wind out of the Trump campaigns sails. They won’t be able to fundraise off of the sentencing and Trump won’t be able to portray himself as a martyr going into the election. On the other hand, this country’s cowardice, hesitancy, and unwillingness to hold ~~its leaders~~ Republicans accountable when they commit crimes is so fucking pathetic. Merchan mentions that sentencing delays almost always happen in every trial. Good point but I’m highly doubting Merchan would grant such a huge delay if the defendant was a regular citizen and had the flagrant attitude that Donald Trump has for the law, the court, the judge himself, and the prosecution. Sorry to be so blunt but wow. What a weak country we’ve become.
ivyagogo on
I think this is a smart move. A jail sentence while he’s running for president would turn him into a martyr. It would backfire on the democrats. We’ll get the MF. VOTE
manhatim on
Fukkin Gym Jordan subpoenaed the judges daughters company for some reason
ironballs16 on
I saw a different interpretation of this from Legal Eagle’s channel, as they proposed that it would be a way to avoid stoking anger just before the election, which could result in higher turnout among his supporters if that happened.
zombiefied on
Misleading headline. MAGA rage did not do this. A wholly corrupt, compromised, and illegitimate SCOTUS did this.
Admqui on
Trump is a 34-time convicted felon, and if not for Supreme Court intervention, would be well on his way to 94.
I think delaying sentencing hurts him politically. His fundraising and voter base is driven by rage. Sentencing delay denies Trump one of the most potent rage drivers at a critical time.
hydro_wonk on
Just call it what it is: terrorism
PlanetoftheAtheists on
It’s the right move, (not that I am certain of the reasoning behind the decision). Any sentence handed down now will be seen by MAGA world as election interference. And perhaps the judge intends on actually sending him to prison.
turtle553 on
This delay makes the chances of jail time go way up. If it was going to be probation or something else with no teeth, he could put that out before the election.
Sentencing him to 3 years 45 days before an election will cause a lot of issues even if merited. It also keeps Trump under the gag order until after the election.
26 Comments
>We can’t be sure how the politics of all this would have played if Trump had faced justice this month. But we do know this: Yet another time, the liberal legal project has not acquitted itself all that well in the face of Trump’s bullying and lawlessness, and MAGA’s arsonist tactics very well may, to some extent or other, have paid off for him once again.
Once again, the justice system allows politics to affect its decision making, in order to avoid the appearance that politics is affecting its decision making.
Putin’s playbook. Erode public confidence in the judiciary.
Merchan apparently doesn’t want to be James Comey 2.0. I guess he’d rather live with the embarrassment of having blinked, than live with the hell on earth that is magaworld all over him and his family.
Hear me out.
Trump is going to lose the election in a landslide. He’s going to be sentenced to prison. And because of this ruling, his inevitable efforts to claim that the sentencing happened pre-election just to derail him are going to be mooted and nullified.
the guy commits the fucking crime and now the judges don’t want to influence the election. by committing the crime, HE influenced the election. the judge is just carrying water for the american oligarchs.
The prosecution raised no issues with the basis of the delay request, which is basically agreeing with them. It also removes an opportunity for Trump to address the court ahead of the election, denying him another few minutes in the spotlight to campaign (which you know he would).
Yup. Judge blinked.
The ONE silver lining from this is hopefully he will be in prison on the day the election is certified so he can’t stand at some bullshit rally and command his minions to storm the capitol. Again.
Not a big fan of the election being so central to Merchan’s decision. I don’t think that was necessary whatsoever and he should have taken a page out of Judge Chutkan’s book.
Regardless, I hope people realize this sentencing date was probably always doomed, and not because of Merchan. But because one of the appellate courts or even SCOTUS was going to bail him out.
Even Alvin Bragg and the Manhattan prosecutors knew it would be, and they said as much weeks ago when they signaled they were open to more delay:
>“Nonetheless, given the defense’s newly-stated position, we defer to the Court on whether an adjournment is warranted to allow for orderly appellate litigation of that question, or to **reduce the risk of a disruptive stay from an appellate court** pending consideration of that question,” state lawyer Matthew Colangelo wrote in the filing.
In other words, prosecutors wanted the schedule maintained, but also knew there was a good chance if Merchan ruled on immunity and then tried to sentence Trump days later, the upper courts were going to swoop in to save Trump – possibly complicating everything further.
In summary, Trump is getting special treatment as always, but we’ve already seen this from the immunity ruling that has caused this mess.
November 5th was always likely to be Trump’s true legal accountability day. It is moreso than ever now.
Nah yall are missing it. By delaying sentencing, Merchan retains jurisdiction and prevents Trump from rapidly running up on appeal and getting his hand-picked cronies to do some political shenanigans.
Merchan can’t prevent that from happening but he CAN make sure Trump is still a convicted felon awaiting sentencing when the ballots are cast.
Bird in hand.
While Merchan’s excuse of not wanting to appear political is weak and, to be honest, kind of embarrassing, sentencing was never going to happen on Sept 18, and even the prosecutors knew that. The reason is because on Sept 16, Merchan will rule whether Trump had presidential immunity for the 36 counts he was found guilty of. It’s expected that Merchan would say “no immunity, sentencing will proceed in two days”, at which point Trump’s lawyers will file an emergency appeal with the NY appeals court, under the argument that if he is indeed found to be immune he can’t be sentenced for crimes he didn’t commit. That’s all correct reasoning legally speaking. The NY appeals court may well say “nah, we agree with Merchan, proceed with sentencing”, but that will take longer than two days, so the Sept 18 sentencing was never realistically going to happen unless Trump’s lawyers don’t file the emergency appeal. So Merchan’s reasoning for the delay is pathetic, but the delay itself was unfortunately inevitable. But have some copium: it’s well documented that when Trump is removed from the spotlight (by sitting at a trial, or potentially a jail cell), his approval ratings creep up with the politically disconnected. Nobody hurts Trump more than Trump. He is floundering every day and getting worse. The prospect of going to jail will be hanging over his head for the rest of the campaign now, which will likely make him even more unhinged. He’s falling apart in front of the world, and now won’t be forced out of the spotlight via jail or house arrest. If I was his campaign manager, I would have prayed for a short stint in a nice jail that I could easily spin into a Nelson Mandela thing.
Actually it was the right move. Trump would have politicized it. Now the judge is free to hit him with some serious jail time after the election. I think it was a stroke of genius. Trump thinks he won. He lost.
Biden should ask for Garland’s resignation. This DOJ has been a poodle when we needed a pit bull. Garland sat on 10 counts of Obstruction of Justice from the Mueller Report and a $10million bribe from Egypt until the statute of limitations ran out. He has refused to investigate or pursue Republicans who defied subpoenas, refused to turn over documents, obstructed justice… it’s disgusting that he has been so ineffective. Biden should be ashamed he ever appointed Garland to be AG.
I get the outrage over this, and I want to see Trump behind bars as much as anyone, but…
Firstly, whether Trump is sentenced now or in November actually doesn’t matter, what matters is if he wins the election or not. Because, if he loses, the sentence (whatever it is) sticks, if he wins then the case and his sentence go away regardless of when he was sentenced.
Secondly, sentencing him now would likely benefit Trump. Every time he’s been in court, his poll numbers go up. Sentencing Trump prior to the election would make him a martyr to his cult and might give him enough votes to win. By keeping him out of court, he’s free to continue down the path of self destruction and is more likely to lose.
Two tiered justice system. The rich and powerful always have options. The rest of us not so much.
It’s right because it was combined with the delay to hear on the motion to overturn. If that motion was ruled on, and eventually successful (on scotus appeal of course) it would eliminate the ‘he’s a felon’ argument and add to the ‘witch hunt’ one.
I’m so mixed on this because on the one hand, the delay takes some of the wind out of the Trump campaigns sails. They won’t be able to fundraise off of the sentencing and Trump won’t be able to portray himself as a martyr going into the election. On the other hand, this country’s cowardice, hesitancy, and unwillingness to hold ~~its leaders~~ Republicans accountable when they commit crimes is so fucking pathetic. Merchan mentions that sentencing delays almost always happen in every trial. Good point but I’m highly doubting Merchan would grant such a huge delay if the defendant was a regular citizen and had the flagrant attitude that Donald Trump has for the law, the court, the judge himself, and the prosecution. Sorry to be so blunt but wow. What a weak country we’ve become.
I think this is a smart move. A jail sentence while he’s running for president would turn him into a martyr. It would backfire on the democrats. We’ll get the MF. VOTE
Fukkin Gym Jordan subpoenaed the judges daughters company for some reason
I saw a different interpretation of this from Legal Eagle’s channel, as they proposed that it would be a way to avoid stoking anger just before the election, which could result in higher turnout among his supporters if that happened.
Misleading headline. MAGA rage did not do this. A wholly corrupt, compromised, and illegitimate SCOTUS did this.
Trump is a 34-time convicted felon, and if not for Supreme Court intervention, would be well on his way to 94.
I think delaying sentencing hurts him politically. His fundraising and voter base is driven by rage. Sentencing delay denies Trump one of the most potent rage drivers at a critical time.
Just call it what it is: terrorism
It’s the right move, (not that I am certain of the reasoning behind the decision). Any sentence handed down now will be seen by MAGA world as election interference. And perhaps the judge intends on actually sending him to prison.
This delay makes the chances of jail time go way up. If it was going to be probation or something else with no teeth, he could put that out before the election.
Sentencing him to 3 years 45 days before an election will cause a lot of issues even if merited. It also keeps Trump under the gag order until after the election.
It’s not quite a win for Trump yet.