BREAKING NEWS: Judge Merchan Pauses All Deadlines In Trump’s New York Case
'Avoid unconstitutional impediments'
Federal Court Denies Trump’s Request To Pause Manhattan Lawfare Despite SCOTUS Immunity Ruling
Merchan is now set to reevaluate the case on Nov. 12 in light of the immunity decision, and he plans to sentence Trump only two weeks later.Judge Merchan urged to sentence Trump to prison while defense seeks to delay sentencing
Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner recently urged acting Judge Juan Merchan to sentence Donald Trump to prison in September in the New York criminal trial, one of four indictments filed against the former president.
Trump was found guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Sentencing in the case is scheduled for September 18.
On Thursday, Kirschner responded to Trump's legal team's request to delay sentencing until after the November presidential election. He called the request "another pathetic and desperate attempt by Donald Trump to keep from being sentenced."
With Trump facing several other indictments, the New York trial has been referred to as the "hush money case;" however, Kirschner claimed the case was actually about election interference.
Trump's attorneys, who filed a request to delay sentencing on Thursday, claimed that moving forward with the September sentencing date would amount to election interference.
His team wrote to Merchan, "The Court should adjourn any sentencing in this case, though one should not be necessary because dismissal and vacatur of the jury's verdicts are required based on Presidential immunity, until after the 2024 Presidential election."
Trump's legal counsel previously filed a motion to overturn the jury's guilty verdict and dismiss the case, citing the United States Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity. His lawyers have also attempted three times to have Merchan recuse himself from the case, claiming his daughter's work for a progressive political consulting firm creates a conflict of interest.
Kirschner, a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, slammed Trump's lawyers for attempting to get the case thrown out over an alleged appearance of impropriety, though he did not mention what that conflict of interest allegation entailed.
"You know friends, this is where sanctioning bad faith lawyers would come in really handy," Kirschner said.
Kirschner went on to explain that Merchan will likely reject Trump's request to vacate sentencing based on presidential immunity and announce that he plans to move forward with sentencing as scheduled. He noted that if that happens, Trump's legal team will presumably immediately try to appeal to postpone sentencing until after the election.
"It could very well be that some appellate court, up to and including the Supreme Court, puts a stop to or stays the sentencing. I hope that doesn't happen," Kirschner continued. "I hope that Judge Merchan not only denies the motion to dismiss but proceeds to sentencing on September 18th, sentences him to prison, which he so richly deserves."
"Because if you want to deter tomorrow's aspiring dictator, you've got to punish today's aspiring dictator for the crimes he committed to try to steal the presidency," Kirschner declared. "You know, probation is dead wrong in this case. Prison time is what's required."
"As long as he's not elected president, he will not have the opportunity to kill his cases," he added. "He won't have that opportunity to get rid of them. But he will, if God forbid he ever retakes the reins of presidential power."
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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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