Judgment against Trump: Legal experts warn NY v. Trump will be remembered as ‘one of the worst’ in the world
Lawyers and legal experts protested the ruling by New York Judge Juan Merchan President-elect Donald Trump in the NY v. Trump case just days before his inauguration as president, saying the case will be remembered as “one of the worst” cases in history.
“I’ll tell you how I feel, when you look at cases throughout history, not just in the United States, but around the world, this will go down as one of the worst. This will go down as an absolute injustice from the beginning,” the Fox host said. Newsa Mark Levin after the sentencing.
Merchan on Friday morning sentenced Trump to unconditional release, meaning he does not face punishment such as fines or jail time.
“This is the end of the politicization of the justice system,” said Fox News contributor Leo Terrell, a civil rights attorney whom Trump named this week as senior adviser to the assistant attorney general for civil rights at Ministry of Justice in his incoming administration.
Trump was sentenced on Friday morning.
“Trump’s election victory basically, in my opinion, neutered this case. And the attempt to smear President Trump, to smear him as a crimson criminal, will only be reversed in a matter of time. And I’m telling you this with 35 years of experience, this case should never have been tried for one reason, to prevent President Trump from becoming the 47th president he failed.”
In his comments to Fox Digital, Terrell added that he is “drooling to get to the Justice Department,” where he will be “very involved in the pursuit of justice” surrounding the NY case and others brought against Trump.
“I’m going to be involved in stopping anti-Semitism and I’m going to stop attacking Catholic families, parents who go to a school board meeting and the abuse, the abuse of using the legal system for political gain. So I’m going to be involved in any investigation and I hope to work there 24 hours daily to uncover all this nonsense,” he said, noting that documents and correspondence surrounding the Trump cases would be “exposed.”
Merchan noted Friday before the sentencing that the court system handled Trump’s case as it handles all other criminal cases.
“After careful analysis, this court has determined that the only lawful sentence that permits a conviction is an unconditional discharge,” Merchan said Friday. “At this point I am imposing that sentence covering all 34 counts.”
Merchan added: “Sir, I wish you a safe journey as you take on your second term.”
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Fox News contributor and attorney Trey Gowdy pointed out Friday that if Trump’s case is handled the same way as any other in New York, it shows that “a lot of bad trials” are taking place in the state.
“Time in court is precious. It’s a precious resource. To waste this time on a case where even the prosecution agrees, you shouldn’t waste a minute. So if Juan Merchan says this case wasn’t handled differently, that just tells me that there are a lot of bad trials going on in New York,” Gowdy said.
Legal expert and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley compared Merchan’s remark that Trump’s case is like any other in New York to Mary Shelley’s “Dr. Frankenstein.”
“Merchan appears to be presenting the case in his own defense and insisted that this case is no different than any other case in New York. It’s a case that goes on long after the jury has left the courtroom. This is like Dr. Frankenstein speaking his creature that he’s just like any other man the compounding of this case from a dead misdemeanor and dismissed federal charges is anything but ordinary,” Turley said on X.
Trump told the court before the sentencing that the case was “a great shame for the state of New York,” noting that voters “resoundingly” re-elected him to the White House in November.
Fox News legal editor Kerri Urbahn added Friday that as she walked into the courtroom, she noticed widespread support for Trump on the streets.
“The only protesters, per se, that were here were Trump supporters. Even as I’m standing here now, looking out into the square and looking at people holding Trump flags, I’m looking at a person with a sign that says ‘He’s Voted Enough.’
During Trump’s trial last spring, cameras were not allowed in the courtroom. However, for the sentencing, Merchan agreed to allow audio, which Urbahn found strange.
“It’s important to note that there was no audio during the trial. There were no cameras, but for this particular sentence, Judge Merchan agreed to have audio. I can’t help but wonder if it’s because he wants the world to hear his voice to punish Donald Trump because that before we couldn’t have,” she said on Fox News.
Merchan earlier this month scheduled Trump’s sentencing for Jan. 10 and soon faced repeated attempts to delay and block the sentencing. Merchan said before the sentencing that Trump would likely not be “sentenced to prison” and instead given an “unconditional release.”
Trump’s legal team appealed to prevent the New York State Court of Appeals from entering judgment. However, the court rejected his request. Trump also filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that “the criminal proceedings pending in the Supreme Court of the District of New York, New York, are hereby ordered to be stayed immediately pending the final disposition of President Trump’s interlocutory appeal raising issues of presidential immunity, including in this court if necessary.”
Trump in court (Fox News)
“The court should also enter, if necessary, a temporary administrative stay while it considers this request for a stay,” Trump’s filing said.
TRUMP WILL BE CONVICTED IN A NEW YORK CRIMINAL TRIAL
FILE – Judge Juan M. Merchan poses in his chambers in New York, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
The Supreme Court rejected the request. Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Brett Kavanaugh indicated they would grant Trump’s request for a stay, while the order suggested Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett voted with Justices Sonja Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Katanji Brown Jackson to reject Trump’s request.
TRUMP FILED REQUEST TO STAY ‘ILLEGAL CONVICTION’ IN NEW YORK CASE
The US Supreme Court building in Washington, DC (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) (AP Photo)
Trump has promised to appeal the verdict, arguing that evidence in the case points to his duties as president during his first term following a Supreme Court ruling in July that former presidents have substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts in office but not for non-official acts.
TRUMP FILES URGENT SUPREME COURT PETITION TO PREVENT TRUMP’S SENTENCING IN NY
“I will appeal this case and I am confident that JUSTICE WILL WIN. The poor, dying remnants of the witch hunt against me will not stand in our way as we unite and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump posted on Truth Social shortly after the Supreme Court’s order on Thursday.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump walks to talk to reporters at the end of the day during his trial for allegedly covering up secret payments in Manhattan Criminal Court on May 7, 2024 in New York.
“Every lawyer has stated unequivocally that this is a case that should never have been brought. There was no case against me. In other words, I am innocent of all the trumped-up, false accusations by the judge. This was nothing but the weaponization of our judicial system against political adversary It’s called the Act and nothing like this has ever happened in the United States of America and should not be allowed to happen again.To this day, this very political and corrupt judge issued a warrant for me to be imprisoned, what deprives me of my First Amendment right to speak about very important aspects of the case,” his post added.
Trump has been found I am guilty of 34 counts of forgery business records in the Manhattan case in May. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office worked to prove Trump falsified business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to silence her claims about an alleged affair with Trump in 2006.
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Trump maintains his innocence in the case and has repeatedly denounced it as an example of legislation being pushed by Democrats in an attempt to hurt his reelection efforts before November.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman and David Spunt contributed to this report.
