Donald Trump has called for the disbarment of Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over his criminal hush money case last year, in a Truth Social message posted on Saturday after the judge set a date for the president-elect’s sentencing for January 10.
Newsweek reached out by email to the Trump transition team on Saturday morning for comment.
Why It Matters
In late May, Trump became the first president to be convicted of a crime and he will also be the first president-elect to be sentenced for a crime ahead of his second term, which will begin after his inauguration on January 20.
A New York jury found Trump, who was just a former president at the time, guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels shortly before his first presidential election in 2016. Daniels alleges she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, which he denies. Trump has maintained his innocence, claiming the case is politically motivated.
Trump was supposed to be sentenced in July, but his hearing was delayed until after the 2024 U.S. presidential election. His victory put the case in limbo, with Merchan initially postponing his sentencing.
What To Know
Merchan on Friday ordered Trump to appear in court—either in person or virtually—for sentencing on January 10, just over a week before Trump’s inauguration. Merchan has advised that he will hand Trump an “unconditional discharge,” which would release Trump without any punishment.
Trump had already made clear his thoughts on Merchan’s decision in a Friday post on Truth Social, his social media platform, calling the proceedings a “rigged charade” and accusing Merchan of being “a radical partisan.”
On Saturday morning in another Truth Social post, he doubled down on his claims and went a step further with a call for Merchan to be disbarred.
“I never falsified business records. It is a fake, made up charge by a corrupt judge who is just doing the work of the Biden/Harris Injustice Department, an attack on their political opponent, ME!” Trump wrote. “…I was hiding nothing, everything was out in the open for all to see. Every legal scholar of note said there IS NO CASE AGAINST ME. The judge should be disbarred! This is why people, and companies, are FLEEING New York – A corrupt court system.”
There is no evidence to support that the Biden administration had a hand in the criminal hush money case against Trump. The hush money case was filed by local prosecutors in Manhattan who don’t work for the Justice Department or any White House office.
Trump in yet another post made within an hour of his other message claimed that “there has never been a President who was so evilly and illegally treated as I.”
“Corrupt Democrat judges and prosecutors have gone against a political opponent of a President, ME, at levels of injustice never seen before,” the president-elect wrote. “Corrupt judges, or judges so blinded by their hatred of me and my political ideology to ‘MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,’ are making a mockery of the United States Judicial System, and the World is watching in disgust.”
The rest of the final post hit out at Department of Justice (DOJ) special counsel Jack Smith, criticized the “illegal raid” of Mar-a-Lago performed by the FBI, and another attack on “dumb as a rock, Sleepy Joe Biden.”
He ended the message making it clear he believes the appellate courts will remedy his frustrations and “bring JUSTICE TO AMERICA!!!”
What People Are Saying
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, himself facing significant legal troubles, on Truth Social wrote: “You are the peoples President! Thank you for doing the right things for ‘we the people’,” and in another post: “The judges and courts have been radicalized.”
Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn on Truth Social wrote: “I’ll hold my breath on the appellate courts but I agree and get your point” with the “100” emoji.
Social media influencer and Democrat political advocate Harry Sisson wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Thank you, Judge Merchan, for upholding the rule of law!”
Former Democratic Senator Al Franken of Minnesota on X quipped: “Judge Merchan has ordered Trump for sentencing on January 10th. My best guess? Nine days of community service picking up trash along a highway.”
What Happens Next
Trump will have to show up in court, one way or another, on January 10, or it is possible that Merchan can hold him in contempt. Trump has continued to point to the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling about presidential immunity to defend himself, but that ruling only applied to duties related to the core responsibilities of the president.
Trump will also appeal the case in an effort to wipe his record clean of the 34 felony convictions, which will need to play out over the coming months or even years.
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