Former federal prosecutor Andrew Cherkasky said on Friday that Judge Juan Merchan’s decision to postpone former President Donald Trump’s sentencing could indicate his intention to jail the former president following the November election.
Trump’s sentencing was slated for Sept. 18, but Merchan delayed the date on Friday “if necessary” to Nov. 26, according to the order. Cherkasky, on “America Reports,” suggested Merchan might have delayed the sentencing because imprisoning Trump before the election could be catastrophic, whereas doing so afterward would be more practical.
WATCH:
Former Federal Prosecutor Says Judge Delaying Sentencing May ‘Signal’ He Plans To Jail Trump ‘After The Election’ pic.twitter.com/kXbBQ1J3UY
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 6, 2024
“[George Washington University law professor] Jonathan Turley was just explaining, perhaps this is a path to him finding or reaching a decision that does not have jail time for Donald Trump. I think it could be a signal of the opposite, that trying to jail the president ahead of the election would have been disastrous for the nation at large,” Cherkasky said. “But if he waits until after the election, then that becomes more of a viable option for him. I’m not saying I think that’s necessarily going to happen. I’m kind of playing it from both sides of the deck, thinking about what he might be thinking in terms of a final sentence in this case.”
The former federal prosecutor also said that “there is good precedent that says that states can’t” impose criminal prosecution against a president while they are in office.
“Does Judge Merchan see … a late November sentencing date as an opportunity to issue a sentence, essentially putting some sort of punishment on the former president ahead of the inauguration? Because obviously, during the time between the election and inauguration, he’s not actually the president,” he added. “So perhaps he tries to do something dramatic in those few weeks in between. There’s really no saying exactly what he’s thinking, other than to say right now it is on pause, and that’s assuming we actually get to sentencing. There’s a lot of issues that need to go up through the appellate system before we even get to that sentencing.”
Merchan noted in his order that it should refute any speculation that his sentencing could impact the presidential election.
Trump’s attorneys asked Merchan in August to delay the sentencing to enable Trump to “pursue state and federal appellate options,” if the judge rejects their motion to dismiss the jury’s verdict based on the Supreme Court’s July presidential immunity ruling.
A Manhattan jury convicted the former president in May on 34 counts for falsifying business documents pertaining to reimbursing his then-attorney for a nondisclosure agreement with porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump’s sentencing originally was scheduled for July 11, but Merchan delayed it following the Supreme Court’s ruling.
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