George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley on Friday said that Judge Juan Merchan’s decision to delay former President Donald Trump’s sentencing could be an effort to avoid boosting his campaign.
Merchan had scheduled Trump’s sentencing for Sept. 18, but on Friday, he postponed the date to Nov. 26 “if necessary,” according to his order. Turley, on “America Reports,” claimed that Merchan’s rulings against Trump during his case were advantageous to his reelection bid, suggesting that maintaining the September sentencing date would have further intensified support for the former president.
Jonathan Turley Says He Thinks 'Merchan Was Aware' Sentencing Trump Before Election Would Help Him Win pic.twitter.com/BWMG03ZA44
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 6, 2024
“Any sentencing that Merchan would have come down with, I think, would have not been particularly welcome by most of the public. It would have reminded them of this campaign against the former president,” Turley said. “So in some ways I think the Harris campaign is probably celebrating that they won’t have that attention on the Manhattan case.”
Merchan noted in his order that he was delaying the sentence “to avoid any appearance—however unwarranted—that the proceeding has been affected by or seeks to affect the approaching Presidential election in which the Defendant is a candidate.” The judge’s rulings during Trump’s business records trial tended to appear favorable to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg while impeding the former president’s defense as Merchan granted many of the prosecution’s requests while denying the defense’s requests. […]
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