I’m going to suggest that it did not, in fact, get his attention. His many frauds continue unabated.
10 Likes
Here, too.
2 Likes
In my experience of more than 30 years in the criminal courts, I know of no one who was convicted of multiple felony counts who did not serve at least some time in custody. But I never defended Donald Trump, and he’s (apparently) “special”.
9 Likes
Yes they might shut it down. But after Johnny the Robber Baron’s whiny screed about “Judicial Independence” I’m glad that a righteous Judge like Juan Merchan is willing to make the 6 Justices Operatives own their hypocrisy.
As Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern wrote in July at the conclusion of the Supreme Court’s most recent term, the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority has…restructured American democracy in the Republican Party’s preferred image…altering the balance of power between the branches and the citizens themselves.”…“The six ultra-conservative justices,” they conclude, “have positioned themselves as partners in Trump’s fight.”
Unelected Party apparatchecks who when not gving the Orange Felon a free pass spend the rest of the time accepting gifts bribes from Billionaires who have business before the Court. But that’s okay. The Judicial Conference can handle this obvious lack of accountability.
14 Likes
his lack of respect for judges, juries, grand juries and the justice system as a whole.
Trump is a career criminal.
10 Likes
Well that permanent mark should be noted every time his name is mentioned, as in:
“The convicted felon, 47th President of the United States, said blah, blah, blah today.”
8 Likes
I have absolutely nothing decent to say about trump.
2 Likes
Here! Here! You took the words out of my mouth! 
1 Like
Maybe he’ll get house arrest. I’d love to see him hauling around a ‘boot’.
1 Like
Appeals may reduce it but not slash it. But I think there are also other issues on appeal that might go Trump’s way.
If Carroll dies before seeing the money, won’t her estate receive it (and her lawyers their cut of it)? If so, I am sure she has worked out how to distribute her estate to her heirs (probably her niece and philanthropy, esp. women’s causes). She doesn’t need to specify exact amounts but can distribute percentages.
4 Likes
No jail for trump’s 34 felonies but watch what happens to Santos/Devolder. Bet’cha he gets jail in February when he is sentenced. Story is on ABCnews…
George Santos seeks sentencing delay in federal fraud case
3 Likes
I think he just realizes his place in all of this. Trump won the election. Merchan could try to use the power of his court to inconvenience him but it would put his ability to enforce his rulings at potential odds with parts of the federal government, including the secret service and the military. The risks there are huge.
Merchan doesn’t want to make himself or his court look petty. Handling it this way allows him to say, “I acknowledge you’re going to be president and am closing this phase of the case, knowing pretty well that you intend to appeal. I am actually helping speed up your appeals process, by the way.”
11 Likes
I am not a lawyer but the kind of fraud felony trump is guilty of is, I might say a weak one but this state set of 34 he was convicted of could carry 4 years in prison. He’s never been really convicted of anything so an appropriate sentence would be like 4 months. All I think he will get is a scolding and a fine which donnie will ignore. Santos on the other hand is looking at federal fraud. I expect 5 to 10 for him. The difference in justice applied is stark
My opinion of Merchan was high but this puts it in the circular file. He could’ve sentenced donnie 4-5 months ago to the term I described and he’d be free in time to be inaugurated. It all stinks like an over flowing sewer.
5 Likes
Definitely. But, you know, being elected president does actually make you special in our system, and it kind of has to for things to function. Merchan simply can’t hand down a sentence that disrupts the will of the people in a national election. Congresspeople, Senators, judges or governors don’t get this kind of special treatment, it’s true. But, you know, if more than half the country and the electoral college had voted for Santos to be president, he’d get special treatment, too.
4 Likes
That wasn’t Merchan’s fault, blame that on the SC…they specifically intervened before Merchan could sentence Trump to throw a wrench in things and force him to figure out how to deal with the newly invented “presidential immunity”. He had no choice but to take it on, and that meant new proceedings and arguments. Add in the (quite proper) delays not to interfere with the election, and here we are. It’s just a shame that so many Americans decided to elect a criminal who tried to overthrow the government…it’s amazing how Nixon did far less and got tossed out while Trump, who didn’t do anything like the good stuff Nixon did as president, gets off almost scott free. I guess that says something about where we are as a nation now.
You can bet that Trump’s lawyers are going to try to appeal a sentence being handed down, at least to delay it until after Jan 20th (at which point Merchan seems to feel obligated to stop the case until Trump leaves office). I hope the NY courts ignore the appeals, as do the federal ones…Trump was found guilty and should be given a sentence, even if it’s just a fine and maybe some suspended probation (Trump was likely never going to serve time in jail). He earned that sentence, he should get it, and then he can try to appeal and get it thrown out the proper way.
9 Likes
No. Your opinion of Merchan should remain high. He couldn’t have sentenced Trump 4 to 5 months ago. The over flowing sewer is what Merchan has just stomped on. Be grateful.
4 Likes
I guess my very strong dislike of trump skews how I see him. Since 2015 when he came down that escalator and proceeded to abuse Mexicans any sense of fairness I should’ve given him was blown away.
4 Likes
In Trump’s case, 1 week at Rikers would be just fine for making the point that NO bastard is above the law.
They could release him just in time for the Inauguration ! New York is only about an hour north of WDC.
7 Likes
24 hours in Rikers would have demonstrated that no, no one is above the law and would have humiliated this fat fuck. So let’s stop with the bullshit that everyone is equal before the law. That’s a more pathetic masturbation fantasy than religion.
2 Likes