#Juan M. Merchan

[trendynewsnow]

Trump's Legal Strategy Following Election Win

Trump’s Legal Strategy Post-Election Victory President-elect Donald J. Trump is launching an aggressive campaign to overturn his recent criminal conviction in New York, leveraging the momentum from his electoral win. His objective is to erase the record of 34 felony charges that hang over him as he prepares for a potential return to the White House, as revealed by court documents made public on…

[diariodigitalnoticias]

Jurado inicia deliberaciones en histórico juicio penal contra Donald Trump en Nueva York

NUEVA YORK (DDN) – El destino jurídico del expresidente Donald Trump quedó en manos de un jurado el miércoles, luego de que el juez Juan M. Merchan les instruyera sobre la ley y los factores a considerar en sus deliberaciones para alcanzar un veredicto en el primer caso penal contra un exmandatario estadounidense. “No es mi responsabilidad juzgar la evidencia aquí. Es suya”, enfatizó el juez…

[allthegeopolitics]

New York’s top court on Tuesday declined to hear Donald Trump’s gag order appeal in his hush money case, leaving the restrictions in place following his felony conviction last month. The Court of Appeals found that the order does not raise “substantial” constitutional issues that would warrant an immediate intervention. The decision is the latest legal setback for the Republican former U.S. president, who has repeatedly railed against a gag order that prevents him from commenting on witnesses, jurors and others who were involved in the case. But it could be short lived. The trial judge, Juan M. Merchan, is expected to rule soon on a defense request to lift the gag order.

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[follow-up-news]

Donald Trump has lost his latest bid for a new judge in his New York hush money criminal case as it heads toward a key ruling and potential sentencing next month. In a decision posted Wednesday, Judge Juan M. Merchan declined to step aside and said Trump’s demand was a rehash “rife with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims” about his ability to remain impartial. It is the third time that Merchan has rejected such a request from lawyers for the former president and current Republican nominee.

[irfan-555]

Judge Delays Trump’s Sentencing Until Nov. 26, After Election Day

The decision by Justice Juan M. Merchan means voters will be left in the dark about whether the former president will face time behind bars.

More details:

[dertaglichedan]

BREAKING - JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT IN TRUMP’S VERDICT? In a letter, today, June 7, 2024, Judge Juan M. Merchan of the New York Supreme Court, alerted the involved parties in the case People v. Trump about a concerning comment posted on the Unified Court System's Facebook page a week ago.

NOTE: The comment, made by a user named "Michael Anderson," claims that his cousin, a juror in the trial, had already decided that Trump will be convicted.

NOTE: The notification is significant because it suggests potential juror bias or misconduct, which could impact the fairness of the trial.

NOTE: The judge brought the issue to the attention of both Trump’s defense attorney, Todd Blanche, and the prosecutor, ADA Joshua Steinglass.

NOTE: It’s unclear whether the allegation is true or the person truly connected to the juror. But it’s concerning enough the judge had to notify both parties.

Below is the letter:

CHAMBERS 100 CENTRE STREET NEW YORK, N.Y. 10013

JUDGE OF THE COURT OF CLAIMS SUPREME COURT, CRIMINAL TERM FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT**

Via Email June 7, 2024

Todd Blanche, Esq. 99 Wall Street Suite 4460 New York, NY 10005

ADA Joshua Steinglass New York County District Attorney’s Office One Hogan Place New York, NY 10013

Re: People v. Trump, Ind. No. 71543-2023

Dear Counsel:

Today, the Court became aware of a comment that was posted on the Unified Court System’s public Facebook page and which I now bring to your attention. In the comment, the user, “Michael Anderson,” states:

“My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted 🥳 Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!! 🖤.”

The comment, now labeled as one week old, responded to a routine UCS notice, posted on May 29, 2024, regarding oral arguments in the Fourth Department of the Appellate Division unrelated to this proceeding.

The posting, entitled “The Appellate Division, Fourth Department, will hear oral arguments this morning at 10,” and the comment are both viewable at https://facebook.com/NewYorkCourts/.

Very truly yours,

Juan M. Merchan Judge Court of Claims Acting Justice Supreme Court

cc: Susan Necheles, Esq. Counsel of record ADA Susan Hoffinger Assistant District Attorneys of record Court file

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Donald Trump is terrified by what has happened in court during his election-interference trial, during which eye witness after eye witness has testified to his sleaze, his lies, and his bullshit, none of which have been negated by any of the Lawyers Who Got Their License From A Box Of Cracker Jacks who form his crackerjack legal defense team.

To reassure himself that he is still Maximum Leader of the Confederate White People’s Treason Party, he has called his fellow traitors to come to New York and demonsrate their loyalty to him by speaking the lies he is no longer allowed to say himself.

This morning, House Speaker “MAGA Mike” Johnson came to New York to continue his assault on the U.S. judicial system, becoming the highest-ranking Republican to show up at court with Donald Trump and using his powerful position to attack the hush money case against the former president as an illegitimate “sham.”

Johnson’s appearance marked a truly “remarkable moment” in modern American politics: The House speaker publicly turning against the federal and state legal systems that are foundational to American government and a cornerstone of democracy.

Johnson, who is second in line for the presidency, called the court system “corrupt.”

Outside the New York courthouse, he decried “This ridiculous prosecution that is not about justice. It’s all about politics.” Johnson specifically attacked the credibility of Michael Cohen as “a man who is clearly on a mission for personal revenge;” claimed lead prosecutor Matthew Colangelo “recently received over $10,000 in payments from the Democratic National Committee;” and reiterated Trump’s attack on the daughter of Judge Juan M. Merchan as having made “millions of dollars” doing online fundraising for Democrats.

The speaker is leading a growing list of Republican lawmakers who criticize the judicial system as they rally to Trump’s side. They say what the Trump campaign tells them to say, which are the statements that got Trump ten counts of violating the gag order.

All of these are things Trump has said before, which were determined in court to be violations of the gag order imposed on him, for which he has been fined. Using the congressional toadies is Trump’s way of getting the word out while avoiding the possibility of ending up in a jail cell for further violation of the gag order.

With Trump stuck in court, Johnson and his fellow traitors are taking it on themselves to attack the proceedings, using the trial as a de facto campaign stop as they work to return the former president to the White House. In portraying the case against Trump as politically motivated, the Republicans are also laying the groundwork to dismiss its significance, should the jury convict, and for potential challenges to the fall election,.

Let us remember that Johnson - whose worthless ass was recently saved from defenestration by the Whackadoodle Caucus of the House GOP by the votes of Democrats - was a chief architect of Trump’s efforts to challenge the 2020 presidential results ahead of the January 6, 2021, mob assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Last week he called the hush money trial and the other election-year cases against Trump a “borderline criminal conspiracy.”

Today, outside of court in New York City - where he insisted he was appearing on his own to support a friend - he proclaimed, “It is election interference. And the American people are not going to let this stand.”

Unlike other Republicans who have shown up to bend their knee and show their support, Johnson did not enter the courtroom, instead departing as he dashed back to Washington to open the House chamber for the day.

Also in court with Trump on Tuesday were Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum - who are both considered possible VP candidates - as well as the Most Annoying Man In America, former GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who is one of Trump’s current top surrogates. These poltroons followed Senators Jimmy Vance of Ohio and the Top Senate Moron, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, who appeared in court yesterday.

Over the weekend, Senator Skeletor, er, I mean Rick Scott - who was the first congressional traitor to show up in the “family row” in the courtroom last week - went on Faux Snooze and proclaimed, “The Democrats are using the court system to go after and prosecute, criminally, a political opponent - that’s a crime. They’re just thugs trying to stop Trump from being able to run for president.”

This morning, before court convened, with the group of congressional traitors gathered in the background, Trump said , “I do have a lot of surrogates, and they’re speaking very beautifully, and they come from all over Washington. And they’re highly respected, and they think this is the greatest scam they’ve ever seen.”

As usual, every Trump attack is a public confession: what he is accused of doing to get elected is the greatest scam anyone has ever seen.

In a departure from the tradition of trust and adherence in U.S. election systems, Johnson and other Republicans have refused to answer straightforwardly when asked if they will accept the election results of 2024.

That these treasonous scum wear the flag of the United States on their lapels and claim themselves “patriots” is enough to gag a maggot.

We are definitely no longer in Kansas, Toto, and the traitors are preparing the ground to start the civil war they have long hoped to see.

TCinLA

[meandmybigmouth]

Trump's Trial Ends Abruptly After He Makes Full Confession in His Sleep

NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report) – In a twist that surprised even the most hardened trial watchers, Donald J. Trump’s hush money trial came to a sudden conclusion on Wednesday after the defendant issued a full confession while soundly asleep.

Trump, who had been snoring vigorously all morning, began mumbling shortly after 10 a.m. despite Judge Juan M. Merchan’s admonishment that he quiet down.

His eyes still closed, the indicted businessman blurted, “I had sexual relationships with Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, then orchestrated an elaborate hush money conspiracy to corrupt the 2016 election.”

The courtroom was dumbfounded to hear Trump issue not only a complete confession but also a complete sentence, witnesses said.

As Trump’s head bobbed forward and he resumed snoring, his lawyers gathered their papers with an air of resignation and quietly filed out of the courtroom.

His lead attorney, Todd Blanche, was philosophical about the trial ending so prematurely, telling reporters, “We probably weren’t going to get paid anyway.”

Hilarious!

[letsjanukhan]

Judge delays ruling on whether to scrap Trump’s conviction in hush money case

A judge is postponing a decision on whether to undo President-elect Donald Trump’s conviction in his hush money case because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity. New York Judge Juan M. Merchan had been set to rule Tuesday. Instead, he told Trump’s lawyers Tuesday he’d delay the ruling until Nov. 19. According to emails filed in court, Trump’s lawyers asked for the delay over…

[ivankahasbeentreatedsounfairly]

By Ben Protess and Kate Christobek

The People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump was the one criminal case against the former president that actually went to trial. Now that Mr. Trump has reclaimed the presidency, it, too, is in jeopardy.

More than five months after a Manhattan jury convicted Mr. Trump on charges that he falsified records to cover up a sex scandal, Mr. Trump has yet to receive his punishment and is expected to use his electoral victory to delay it again.

Mr. Trump — the first former president to become a felon and the first felon to be elected president — is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 26. His lawyers will probably soon ask the judge overseeing the case to delay it indefinitely.

If the judge grants the request, the 78-year-old defendant might never face consequences for his crimes, or at least not for years. And although he is still fighting three other criminal cases, two are federal and he will soon have the authority to shut them down.

Here’s what we know about the status of Mr. Trump’s New York criminal conviction in the wake of his Election Day victory.

Will he still be sentenced this month?

Mr. Trump’s victory provided him a way to wriggle out of his sentencing — and he might well succeed.

As soon as this week, he is expected to ask the judge, Justice Juan M. Merchan, to grant another delay. He could argue that the sentencing would become a major distraction during the presidential transition, impeding his ability to pick a cabinet and take office. The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which prosecuted Mr. Trump, will get a chance to respond and then Justice Merchan will decide.

After granting two prior delays, Justice Merchan might once again be amenable to postponing.

And even if he is not, Mr. Trump can appeal his decision and seek an emergency pause of the sentencing. A single appellate court judge could then either grant the request or by denying it give him reason to take the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the 6-3 conservative majority includes three justices he appointed.

Can he get the conviction thrown out?

Mr. Trump has already asked Justice Merchan to throw out his indictment and conviction, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling this summer. In that case, the high court held that a former president was “entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts.”

Manhattan prosecutors have argued that the ruling had “no bearing” on this case, noting that Mr. Trump’s cover-up of the sex scandal was unrelated to his presidency.

Justice Merchan is expected to issue his decision on throwing out the conviction Tuesday.

While the request is a long shot for Mr. Trump, the judge will not have the final say. The former president’s lawyers will undoubtedly ask a New York appeals court to halt the sentencing while they challenge any adverse decision, potentially all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Can Trump pardon himself?

No. The prosecution was brought by state prosecutors, rather than the federal government, and the presidential pardon does not extend to state cases.

If Trump is still sentenced, what punishment could he receive?

Mr. Trump was convicted of Class E felonies, the lowest category of felony in New York, and faces up to four years in prison. Mr. Trump, a first-time felon and a senior citizen, was always unlikely to receive the full punishment.

Still, a New York Times analysis showed that since 2014, over a third of the defendants sentenced in Manhattan to the most serious charge of falsifying business records served time behind bars.

If Mr. Trump was sentenced to jail, it would likely be a matter of weeks or months, not years. The judge could also sentence him to a term of probation. Mr. Trump would then be subject to certain conditions, such as staying out of trouble and not associating with disreputable people, and be required to regularly report to the city’s Probation Department.

But can a president-elect go to jail?

It is longstanding Justice Department policy that a sitting president cannot face criminal prosecution. That prohibition would extend to a president being incarcerated, which, the policy notes, “would make it physically impossible for the president to carry out his duties.”

Though New York courts are not automatically bound by that policy, they would almost certainly honor it. And while the policy technically applies only to a sitting president, Mr. Trump’s lawyers would argue that it should extend to a president-elect as well.

If he gets jail time, would he be incarcerated immediately?

It is highly unlikely. Justice Merchan could postpone the sentence until after his second term expires. If for some reason the judge did not, Mr. Trump could ask an appeals court to immediately intervene.

What was he convicted of?

Mr. Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. The charges stem from a $130,000 hush-money payment that Mr. Trump’s fixer, Michael D. Cohen, made to the porn star Stormy Daniels in the days leading up to the 2016 election, suppressing her story of a sexual liaison with Mr. Trump.

Prosecutors argued that Mr. Trump had directed Mr. Cohen to make the payment and then covered it up through reimbursements falsely classified as ordinary legal expenses. Each of the 34 counts corresponds to an invoice, check or ledger related to these repayments.

Who is Justice Merchan?

A veteran Manhattan judge and a former prosecutor, Justice Merchan is known to be tough on white-collar crimes. During the trial, the drama-averse judge was continually attacked by Mr. Trump, who accused him of being “biased” and “corrupt.”

At the request of prosecutors, the judge imposed a gag order prohibiting Mr. Trump from attacking witnesses, prosecutors and jurors. And when Mr. Trump expanded his attacks to Justice Merchan’s daughter, a Democratic strategist, the judge revised his gag order to protect his own family — and those of prosecutors — from Mr. Trump’s vitriol.

Wasn’t the sentencing supposed to be before Election Day?

Mr. Trump was originally scheduled to be sentenced July 11. But just days beforehand came the U.S. Supreme Court decision granting him broad immunity for official actions he took as president, prompting him to seek a delay of the sentencing.

Justice Merchan agreed to postpone until September, when he agreed to another delay until Nov. 26, this time to avoid a collision with the election.

Postponing until after Election Day, he wrote at the time, “best advances the interests of justice.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/06/nyregion/trump-criminal-case-new-york.html

[isfeed]

Judge Delays Trump’s Sentencing Until Nov. 26, After Election Day

The decision by Justice Juan M. Merchan means voters will be left in the dark about whether the former president will face time behind bars. Source: New York Times Judge Delays Trump’s Sentencing Until Nov. 26, After Election Day

[bllsbailey]

Judge Merchan Rejects Trump’s Bid For A New Judge In N.Y. Trial

Former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a pre-trial hearing in a hush money case in criminal court on March 25, 2024 in New York City.

In the lead-up to a significant decision and feared sentencing next month, Donald Trump has lost his most recent bid for a new judge in his criminal case in New York.

Judge Juan M. Merchan refused to recuse himself in a ruling released on Wednesday, claiming that Trump’s demand was a repetition “rife with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims” regarding Merchan’s daughter’s career in Democrat politics and his capacity to render a fair and impartial conclusion in the momentous issue.

The judge has turned down this kind of request from the former president’s and the current Republican nominee’s attorneys three different times.

On three separate occasions, attorneys contended that Merchan, a liberal Manhattan state court judge, was a conflict of interest in Trump’s case since his daughter works as a political adviser for well-known Democrats and their campaigns. She has even previously worked for Vice President Kamala Harris during her 2020 presidential campaign.

Merchan was allowed to proceed with the case last year, according to a state court ethics tribunal, which claimed that a relative’s political activity is not “a reasonable basis to question the judge’s impartiality.”

Merchan has also continuously stressed that he would continue to base his decisions “on the evidence and the law, casting aside undue influence.” However, it is hard to believe that any New York judge would truly be objective in a case involving Donald Trump if he and his family oppose Trump as a politician.

“With these fundamental principles in mind, this Court now reiterates for the third time, that which should already be clear—innuendo and mischaracterizations do not a conflict create,” Merchan wrote. “Recusal is therefore not necessary, much less required.”

In May, a New York jury found Trump guilty of allegedly fabricating company documents to “hide a 2016 agreement to pay porn star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet” about her alleged 2006 sexual encounter with him. Nevertheless, it was Trump’s former attorney-turned-foe, Michael Cohen, who was in charge of the documents at the time.

Prosecution attorneys tried to portray the payment as a part of Trump’s campaign strategy to prevent voters from “learning negative information” about him.

Trump maintains that all of the so-called “hush money” allegations about him are untrue, that the financial records were authentic, and that the lawsuit was a strategic ploy to harm his candidacy.

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[adiariomx]

El juez Juan M. Merchan declinó el pedido de Donald Trump de hacer a un lado en el juicio que se le sigue en Nueva York por sobornos a cambio de diner...

[cavenewstimes]

Judge alters Trump’s gag order, letting him talk about witnesses, jury after hush money conviction

NEW YORK (AP) — A Manhattan judge on Tuesday modified Donald Trump’s gag order, freeing the former president to comment publicly about witnesses and jurors in the hush money criminal trial that led to his felony conviction, but keeping others connected to the case off limits until he is sentenced July 11. Judge Juan M. Merchan’s decision — just days before Trump’s debate Thursday with President…

[talkstothemoonandstars]

New York’s top court declines to hear Trump’s appeal of gag order in hush money case

NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s top court on Tuesday declined to hear Donald Trump’s gag order appeal in his hush money case, leaving the restrictions in place following his felony conviction last month. The Court of Appeals found that the order does not raise “substantial” constitutional issues that would warrant an immediate intervention.

The decision is the latest legal setback for the Republican former president, who has repeatedly railed against the gag order, which prevents him from commenting on witnesses, jurors and others who were involved in the case. But it could be short lived. The trial judge, Juan M. Merchan, is expected to rule soon on a defense request to lift the gag order.