The recent “hush money” case against Donald Trump is the latest chapter in what many are calling a clear example of lawfare — using the legal system as a weapon to achieve political objectives. While the case has been criticized from the start for being a political witch hunt, the sentencing truly exposed the lack of legitimate legal grounds for the charges, underscoring the partisan motives behind the trial.
On Friday, ten days before his inauguration, Judge Juan Merchan sentenced Trump to an unconditional discharge, which means that he faces no jail time or additional punishment. Despite Merchan’s acknowledgment that no substantial punishment was warranted, the conviction remains on his record. While this may seem like a minor legal outcome, it has significant implications for Trump’s reputation and future political prospects. For now, Democrats can tout the fact that they can label Trump a “convicted felon,” but this victory may be short-lived.
Now that the sentencing is over, “Trump will finally be able to appeal this horrendous case, “ explains George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley. “It has always been a target-rich opportunity for appeal, but Trump could not launch a comprehensive appeal until after he was sentenced.”
Those appellate issues include charges based on a novel criminal theory through which New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg not only zapped a dead misdemeanor into life (after the expiration of the statute of limitation) but based a state charge on federal election law and federal taxation violations. So, after the Justice Department declined to prosecute federal violations, Bragg effectively did so in state court with Merchan’s blessing.
The issues also include Merchan’s absurd instructions to the jury. The novel theory demanded a secondary offense, the crime that Trump was seeking to conceal by listing payments as legal expenses. Merchan allowed the jury to find that the secondary offense was any of an array of vaguely defined options. Even on the jury form, they did not have to specify which crimes were found. Merchan did not require even a majority, let alone a unanimous jury, to agree on what actually occurred.
Under Merchan’s instruction, the jury could have split four-four-four on whether this was all done to conceal a federal election violation, falsification of business records or taxation violations. Neither Trump nor the public will ever know.
Turley noted that “this case will eventually go to the United States Supreme Court.” And it will likely be overturned.
Merchan’s actions throughout the case raised serious questions about his impartiality. From the start of the trial to the sentencing, Merchan exhibited behavior that suggested a bias against Trump. As a known Biden donor, Merchan’s conduct proved time and time again that his decisions were more focused on delivering a politically motivated outcome rather than ensuring fair and impartial justice.
For our VIPs: A Sham Trial with a Sham Conviction Ends With a Sham Sentencing
At the heart of the case was the charge of falsifying business records, which is usually treated as a misdemeanor. However, the prosecution inflated this misdemeanor to a felony by making an absurd claim that Trump had the intent to commit another unspecified crime. This kind of legal gymnastics highlights just how flimsy the case against Trump was from the start. Falsifying business records is common in the business world, yet Trump is the first to face felony charges over such an issue — making it clear that this trial wasn’t about upholding the law but about taking down a political adversary.
When legal scholars on both sides of the aisle saw it as a politically motivated perversion of the law, overturning the conviction is likely inevitable. I have no idea how long this process will take, but in the grand scheme of things, Democrats won’t be able to gloat forever, and in the end, the left will have spent millions of dollars for absolutely nothing.
The only other more expensive failure will be Kamala Harris’s billion-dollar defeat back in November
