Judge punts ruling in Trump's New York criminal case as Democrats' lawfare crumbles



New York Judge Juan Merchan has postponed deciding whether to uphold or dismiss the criminal conviction against President-elect Donald Trump. Merchan was scheduled to make his ruling on Tuesday but has agreed to freeze the case until November 19.

In the New York case, Trump was found guilty by a jury on all 34 counts of falsifying business records. His sentencing is slated for November 26.

'It's time for the judge to recognize reality and to dismiss this case.'

According to court filings, Trump's legal team requested the stay and an eventual dismissal of the conviction.

Trump's lawyers have argued that the case and convictions should be thrown out based on the United States Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity.

Trump's attorney Emil Bove contended, "The stay, and dismissal, are necessary to avoid unconstitutional impediments to President Trump's ability to govern," the court filings showed.

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo agreed with the stay, stating that "these are unprecedented circumstances" and the defense's arguments "require careful consideration."

Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung stated that Trump's presidential victory last week was "an overwhelming mandate to Make America Great Again."

"It is now abundantly clear that Americans want an immediate end to the weaponization of our justice system, including this case, which should have never been filed, so we can, as President Trump said in his historic victory speech, unify our country and work together for the betterment of our nation," Cheung stated.

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley reacted to Merchan's decision to delay the ruling, telling Fox News, "The Trump team did succeed in getting this delay. What they don't want is an indefinite status. They don't want this just to be lingering."

He explained that Trump's legal team "will be arguing in the next week that it's time for the judge to recognize reality and to dismiss this case."

The other pending cases against Trump are also falling apart following his election.

Special counsel Jack Smith, who was tasked with overseeing the two federal cases against Trump, has since requested to vacate all deadlines in one of the cases. A federal judge previously dismissed Smith's other federal case. The Georgia criminal case against Trump has been tied up in an appeals court.

However, despite the election outcome, New York Attorney General Letitia James has vowed to continue her lawfare against Trump.

Mike Davis, founder of the Article III Project, told Benny Johnson, "Let me just say this to Big Tish James, the New York Attorney General. I dare you. I dare you to try to continue your lawfare against President Trump in his second term."

"Because listen here, sweetheart: We're not messing around this time. And we will put your fat ass in prison for conspiracy against rights," he continued. "And I promise you that. So think long and hard before you want to violate President Trump's constitutional rights or any other American's constitutional rights. It's not going to happen again."

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'We will put your fat a** in prison': Letitia James gets absolutely excoriated by prominent Trump legal ally



After Donald Trump decisively beat Kamala Harris in Tuesday's presidential election, Trump-hating New York Attorney General Letitia James turned quite a few heads with a bizarre and cryptic speech vowing to "fight back" against the president-elect.

James — who campaigned for her office on the promise that she would go after Trump and sued him for hundreds of millions — spoke somberly with whispered endings to phrases, frequent dramatic pauses, and clipped, halting pronunciations of key words that seemed to reflect anger, shock, and sadness over Trump's victory.

'I dare you to try to continue your lawfare against President Trump in his second term. Because listen here, sweetheart: We’re not messing around this time.'

"We did not expect this result, but we are prepared to respond to this result," James went on to say. "And my office has been preparing for several months because we've been here before. We faced this challenge before, and we used the rule of law to fight back. And we are prepared to fight back once again, because as the attorney general of this great state, it is my job to protect and defend the rights of New Yorkers and the rule of law. And I will not shrink from that responsibility."

You can view video of her relevant remarks here, starting at the 9:20 mark.

'Let me just say this to Big Tish James'

One prominent Trump legal ally was having none of James' tough talk — and gave it right back to her.

Attorney Mike Davis — founder of the Article III Project, which "defends constitutionalist judges and the rule of law" — absolutely excoriated James during an appearance on "The Benny Show" podcast Thursday.

"Let me just say this to Big Tish James, the New York attorney general," Davis said. "I dare you to try to continue your lawfare against President Trump in his second term. Because listen here, sweetheart: We’re not messing around this time. And we will put your fat ass in prison for conspiracy against rights, and I promise you that."

Davis also warned James to "think long and hard before you want to violate President Trump’s constitutional rights or any other American’s constitutional rights. ... It’s not gonna happen again."

Fox News said it reached out to James' office seeking a response to Davis' comments.

The cable network and other outlets characterized Davis as a possible attorney general candidate in the Trump administration, but Davis said in a Friday X post that while he "strongly" supports the president-elect, he's "not going into his administration and [is] not under consideration for Attorney General."

"As I have made crystal clear, I do not speak for President Trump or anyone else," Davis added in his post. "Like tens of millions of other private citizens, I am outraged by the lawfare and weaponization of our system of justice, including the New York Attorney General’s political crusade. All of the witch hunts have to end so our Republic can survive and prosper under the leadership of President Trump."

Anything else?

Following James' speech, Fox News legal editor Kerri Urbahn blasted James, saying it was "maybe the most distasteful speech I've ever seen a government official give after someone won the American presidency, and I think it reflects exactly how Letitia James has been this entire time."

Urbahn added that James "has done everything in her power to destroy Donald Trump. She failed. Do you know how we know she failed? Because Donald Trump won decisively last night. This lawfare campaign that we have seen waged against Trump by attorneys general, by federal and state prosecutors, and doing so by twisting the law in ways they had never done before. ... They used the law against Donald Trump in ways they've never used against anyone else in their states, in this country, and the American people spoke loud and clear last night and said, 'We're done with this.' And yet for the attorney general of the state of New York to go on and give that speech just now is disgraceful."

While the Department of Justice has moved to end federal cases against Trump before he takes office in January, state cases against him — such as the civil fraud case James brought against Trump resulting in more than $450 million in penalties against him — still hang in the balance.

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'We did not expect this result': Trump-hating New York AG Letitia James vows to 'fight back' in wake of Trump's election win



Far-left New York Attorney General Letitia James campaigned for her office on the promise that she would go after Donald Trump — and has done so relentlessly.

In the wake of Trump's resounding presidential victory over Democrat Kamala Harris, James gave a bizarre and cryptic speech Wednesday promising repeatedly that she would "fight back" against Trump's incoming administration.

'So no matter what the next administration throws at us, we're ready. We're ready to respond to their attacks.'

While James started off congratulating Trump on his win, she immediately went negative and said "if possible" her office will work with his administration.

"But we will not compromise our values, our integrity, our principles,” James added.

It should be noted that James' delivery of her speech was dramatic to the hilt — full of whispered endings to phrases and frequent pauses, as well as clipped, halting pronunciations of key words that seemed to reflect anger, shock, and sadness over Trump's victory.

"We did not expect this result, but we are prepared to respond to this result," James went on to say. "And my office has been preparing for several months because we've been here before. We faced this challenge before, and we used the rule of law to fight back. And we are prepared to fight back once again because as the attorney general of this great state, it is my job to protect and defend the rights of New Yorkers and the rule of law. And I will not shrink from that responsibility."

James acknowledged that her office between 2019 and 2021 took nearly 100 legal actions against Trump’s previous administration.

"We know their playbook," she added. "We know Project 2025 before it was even published. And we have been working both in my office and with other Democratic [attorneys general] across this country to make sure that we would be ready to respond to any attempt to roll back our rights.”

James — still projecting drama-filled tones — appeared to be giving the ultimate pep talk.

"So here we are," she concluded. "We studied their platforms. We've identified certain possibilities, fact patterns. We've created contingency plans. So no matter what the next administration throws at us, we're ready. We're ready to respond to their attacks. We're ready to respond to any attempts to cut or eliminate any funding to the great state of New York, as the governor outlined. So, despite what has happened on the national stage, we will continue to stand tall in the face of injustice, revenge, or retribution."

James finally brought things to an end, seemingly rallying the leftist troops with this promise: "This is not the time to be fearful, New York, but faithful and steadfast, knowing that I, as the attorney general, along with my entire team, we are guardians of the law, and we are prepared, my friends, to fight back."

You can view James' relevant remarks here after the 9:20 mark.

'Disgraceful'

Following the speech, Kerri Urbahn — Fox News' legal editor — blasted James for her words, calling it "maybe the most distasteful speech I've ever seen a government official give after someone won the American presidency, and I think it reflects exactly how Letitia James has been this entire time."

Urbahn added that James "has done everything in her power to destroy Donald Trump. She failed. Do you know how we know she failed? Because Donald Trump won decisively last night. This lawfare campaign that we have seen waged against Trump by attorneys general, by federal and state prosecutors, and doing so by twisting the law in ways they had never done before. ... They used the law against Donald Trump in ways they've never used against anyone else in their states, in this country, and the American people spoke loud and clear last night and said, 'We're done with this.' And yet for the attorney general of the state of New York to go on and give that speech just now is disgraceful."

While the Department of Justice has moved to end federal cases against Trump before he takes office in January, state cases against him — such as the civil fraud case James brought against Trump, resulting in more than $450 million in penalties against him — still hang in the balance.

Urbahn noted in regard to the state cases that "you would hope and you would think" that the states would take similar stances as the federal government. She said that Judge Juan Merchan will decide next week if immunity applies following the headline-grabbing trial earlier this year in which a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records. What's more, Trump's sentencing is scheduled for the end of November.

But Urbahn cautioned Merchan, saying he should "think long and hard" about any further lawfare against Trump, given that widespread negative reaction to it was a big part of why Trump won back the White House so decisively this week.

She also said James "abused the law" against Trump and said the New York appellate court was "incredibly skeptical" of James' civil fraud case against Trump. "I think he's actually going to win that case, and I think that court has been holding that decision for after the election."

Don't forget

Readers of Blaze News likely haven't forgotten when New York City Fire Department members heckled James with boos at an official ceremony earlier this year, presumably over her anti-Trump antics. James motioned with her hands and told her apparent underlings to "simmer down" — but soon the firefighters began chanting, "Trump! Trump! Trump!" Check out the heat here.

Unbelievably, FDNY Chief of Department John Hodges in response "fired off an email to other agency honchos warning a reckoning led by the department’s Bureau of Investigation and Trials was coming over the chorus of boos and chants of 'Trump' that James received," the New York Post reported.

"BITS is investigating this, so they will figure out who the members are,” Hodges wrote in an email to FDNY leadership, according to the Post, adding that "I recommend they come forward. I have been told by the commissioner it will be better for them if they come forward, and we don’t have to hunt them down."

In addition, a U.S. District Court judge said the chanting against James wasn't about politics but about race.

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SCOTUS denies Missouri AG's effort to delay Trump's sentencing and relieve him of gag order in New York case



The Supreme Court of the United States declined a request by the attorney general of Missouri to delay sentencing and lift the gag order imposed on former President Donald Trump in connection with the so-called hush-money trial in New York.

In early July, Missouri AG Andrew Bailey, a Republican appointee currently running for a full term, effectively sued the state of New York for allegedly attempting to prevent Missourians from hearing from the Republican candidate for president in 2024 on account of the gag order that remains in place even after a New York jury convicted Trump on all 34 counts related to payments meant to keep the story of his alleged affair with porn actress Stormy Daniels out of the tabloids in 2016.

'I will continue to prosecute our lawsuit against @KamalaHarris @JoeBiden’s DOJ for coordinating the illicit prosecutions against President Trump.'

"New York is working to hijack our national election and jail President Trump," Bailey tweeted on Monday. "Missourians absolutely have an interest in ensuring that does not happen."

Acting Judge Juan Merchan eased the gag order some after Trump was convicted, permitting Trump to criticize jurors and witnesses in the case. However, Trump is still forbidden from speaking about prosecutors and their family members.

Last week, a New York appeals court denied a motion from Trump — who was recently shot and nearly killed in an assassination attempt — to lift all remaining remnants of the gag order, citing ongoing alleged "threats received by District Attorney staff after the jury verdict continued." There have been no reports of court staff members enduring physical harm on account of the trial.

Though Republican attorneys general from Alaska, Florida, Iowa, and Montana all joined Bailey and Missouri in the SCOTUS filing, NBC News still described it as a "longshot" and Politico a "legal Hail Mary."

Thus, it came as no surprise that on Monday, SCOTUS issued a one-page statement declining Bailey's motion.

"Missouri’s motion for leave to file a bill of complaint is denied, and its motion for preliminary relief or a stay is dismissed as moot," the statement said.

The statement added that Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas would have granted Bailey the opportunity to file the complaint but would not have granted any "other relief" he sought.

Following the statement from SCOTUS, Bailey expressed disappointment as well as resolve to hold the Biden-Harris administration accountable for apparent election interference via "lawfare."

"It’s disappointing that the Supreme Court refused to exercise its constitutional responsibility to resolve state v. state disputes," Bailey wrote. "I will continue to prosecute our lawsuit against @KamalaHarris@JoeBiden’s DOJ for coordinating the illicit prosecutions against President Trump."

"The fight is not over."

New York Attorney General Letitia James, who campaigned for office on the promise of targeting Trump, declined NBC News' request for comment on the SCOTUS statement.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has ties to billionaire financier George Soros and also made going after Trump a central focus of his campaign, declined Politico's request for comment.

Following his conviction, Trump was initially scheduled to be sentenced in July, but the sentencing hearing has since been pushed back until September.

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