Prominent attorney Alan Dershowitz and legal analyst Greg Jarrett went on FOX News Friday to ask New York State Judge Juan Marchan to update the sentencing schedule, saying city officials and the judge had decided against Donald Trump. He said he had filed a “sham trial” against President-elect Trump.
With less than three weeks until Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, Marchan released a filing Friday night ordering Trump’s sentencing in the New York case to be scheduled for Jan. 10 and giving the former president He wrote that there was “no legal impediment” to passing a judgment. . On “Hannity,” guest host Jason Chafetz asked two legal experts about their views. Dershowitz asked whether New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul could pardon Trump, given the politically motivated nature of the case.
“This is the worst example of Stalinism in my 60-year career. Stalin said, ‘Show me the man and I will find the crime.’ So Democratic Attorney General Letitia James and Democratic Prosecutor Alvin Bragg tried to find a crime to convict Trump of, and they couldn’t,” Dershowitz said. “They couldn’t find a crime. They looked in the books. They couldn’t find a crime, so they used whole cloth to fabricate a crime. A completely fabricated case. If they can sue Donald Trump, they can sue you too.”
“Right now they’re trying to avoid him being appealed. One way to avoid him being appealed was to not sentence him. Now they’re going to sentence him. ” Dershowitz added. “There’s another possibility. The governor might pardon him. Even if the governor pardons him, he still has the stigma of the conviction and there’s a question of whether he can appeal if he’s pardoned. .”
During Trump’s trial, questions arose about President Joe Biden and the Justice Department’s involvement in the case. Mr. Bragg added Mr. Biden’s former acting deputy attorney general to his team in December 2022 to lead the investigation into the Trump Foundation. Lawmakers like Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman have argued that Mr. Bragg’s case against Mr. Trump is “politically motivated” and that a pardon is “appropriate.”
Dershowitz went on to say that Bragg and Marchan knew the case would be reversed and were trying to avoid an “appellate court reversal.” (Related article: ‘A complete fraud’: CNN’s Scott Jennings accuses New York officials of playing ‘partisan politics’ in Trump case)
“They’re looking at every possible way to avoid a reversal on appeal, because any decent appellate court would overturn this conviction for a dozen different reasons. One is that the crime Two, there was immunity. Three, error after error. Four, the worst criminal case I can remember.” Dershowitz said. .
Jarrett then interjected, saying Marchan was trying to “label” Trump as a convicted felon before he took office. Jarrett added that the case was “politically driven” by Bragg and a “hostile judge.”
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“Well, Judge Marchan is determined to label Donald Trump.” [as a] Convicted felon. However, in order to do so, a ruling must be made before taking office. Otherwise, you can’t technically call him a convicted felon,” Jarrett said. “So Marchan is dangling what he thinks is an attractive offer: Agree to be sentenced next Friday, Mr. Trump, and there will be no jail time, no probation, no nothing. Full discharge. Well, I don’t think Donald Trump would bite, and he shouldn’t.”
“He was found guilty by a biased jury of a crime that does not even exist under the law. He was almost framed by prosecutors,” Jarrett added. “In short, this turned out to be a sham trial based on complex and disjointed legal theory. As you pointed out, it was completely unreasonable. This trial was full of reversible errors by the judge and the final It will be overturned.”
Trump’s original sentencing date was scheduled for July 11 after a Manhattan jury returned guilty verdicts on all 34 felonies. But before that date, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in President Trump’s presidential immunity case, delaying Marchand’s schedule. Despite court rulings that sitting presidents have immunity for “official acts” from criminal prosecution, Marchan has refused to overturn his conviction, following Trump’s victory in November. Sentencing was postponed indefinitely.
Jarrett said Trump should challenge Marchand’s ruling, adding that if that’s not possible, he may begin an appeals process.
“But for now, I expect Mr. Trump to fight any sentencing. He wants to clear his name. Maybe he’ll seek a stay in the Court of Appeals, so… Let’s see what happens next week,” Jarrett said. “But even if Mr. Trump doesn’t get a suspended sentence, he still stands to benefit, because only after a verdict is reached will he be able to sue on the merits and all the mistakes that Mr. Marchand made. Because you can.”
Marchand said he does not believe Trump will receive any prison time. He wrote that the former president may appear virtually at his Jan. 10 sentencing hearing.
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