LOS ANGELES.–Sentencing Trump today via Zoom, 63-year-old Judge Juan Merchan showed his extreme prejudice against 78-year-old President-elect Donald Trump. Trump was convicted in Manhattan State Court of 34 felonies connected to a 2016 so-called $130,000 hush money payment to former porn queen Stormy Daniels to buy her silence before the 2016 presidential election. Daniels actually extorted money from Trump, claiming she had an affair with Trump in 2012. Mahattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, 51, ran for office in 2021 promising, if elected, he would prosecute Trump. Bragg’s predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr., declined to prosecute Trump citing insufficient evidence but Bragg went ahead with his political prosecution. At the time, Democrats hatched a plan to charge Trump with numerous crimes to prevent him from running for president in 2024.
Merchan expressed his opinions exposing for all to see the egregious bias used in the case to convict Trump at all costs. “This has been a very terrible experience,” Trump told Merchan over Zoom. “It was done to damage my reputation so I would lose the election,” Trump said. “I am totally innocent. I did nothing wrong,” refuting Bragg’s charges, the jury’s deliberation and Merchan’s sentencing. “This defendant has caused enduring damage to the public perception of the criminal justice system,” said prosecutor Joshua Steinglass, revealing his own prejudice against Trump. Why would a prosecutor make public his disparaging views of Trump if he wants to have any credibility in administering justice? Trump defense attorney Todd Blanche refuted Steinglass, pointing out that Bragg ran his Democrat campaign on a promise to prosecute Trump if getting elected DA.
Manhattan prosecutors led by Bragg and Merchan got caught up in the limelight prosecuting the President-elect for a crime he never committed. Why Bragg didn’t bring charges against Stormy Daniels for extorting money from Trump is anyone’s guess. “This is a case that without a doubt was brought by a district attorney who promised he would go after President Trump if elected, and he had to go through with that promise,” Blanche said, raising questions about weaponization of the criminal justice system. Steinglass is dead wrong that Trump disparaged the criminal justice system that was Bragg’s fault for ignoring Cyrus Vance Jr. and moving ahead with charges against Trump purely for political reasons. Steinglass should be concerned about malicious prosecution or fabricating probable cause when there was no real facts or evidence to prosecute the case against Trump.
Democrats and the corrupt U.S. press hailed the conviction and sentencing today, insisting Trump got what he deserved. Any win since the disastrous Nov. 5, 2024 election looks like a victory for the Democrats and the fake news.”It’s a very sad day. It’s as sad day for President Trump and his family and his friends but it’s also, in counsel’s view, for the country,” Blanche said, saying Trump would appeal again. “Defendant’s disdain for the Third Branch of government, whether state or federal, in New York or elsewhere, is a matter of public record. Indeed, Defendant has gone to great lengths to broadcast on social media and other forums his lack of respect for the judges, juries, grand juries and the justice system as a whole,” Merchan wrote in his sentencing decision. If that doesn’t put on record his extreme prejudice or vendetta with Trump then what does?
Merchan has gone over the deep end venting his rage at Trump, not defending the Constitution and rule of law but acting like he works for the Democrat Party or Trump-hating fake news. Why would a judge want to comment on Trump intent or character when he has no facts to support his contentions. Trump doesn’t have contempt for the criminal justice system, he has contempt for rogue prosecutors like Bragg and Democrat Judges like Merchan, using the bench to advance the Democrat agenda. Merchan writes like he’s trying to one-up Trump for public consumption, almost like he speaks for the Democrat Party and the fake news. “Indeed, as Defendant must surely know, the same Order was left undisturbed by the United States Supreme Court on Deember 9, 2024. Yet Defendant continues to undermine its legitimacy, in posts to his millions of followers,” Merchan wrote.
How much more does any appeals court need to see with Merchan’s petty grandstanding to justify the kangaroo court trial against Trump. Merchan is exactly why incoming Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi has a ton of work to stop the reckless, illegal and political prosecutions plaguing U.S. courts. Merchan stated for the record his hatred toward Trump, making no defense for the rule of law. Merchan got caught in a vendetta against President-elect Trump, a carryover from his instructions by the Democrat Party to do anything possible to stop Trump’s 2024 campaign. Since Democrats couldn’t stop Trump at the ballot box, they must bury him in legal cases to stop his 2024 campaign. Well, how did that all work out? Voters gave their verdict to rogue prosecutors and judges on Nov. 5.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
