Following a delay in the sentencing in former President Donald Trump‘s criminal hush money case, lawyer Jonathan Turley said on Friday that the Supreme Court would view evidence allowed by Judge Juan Merchan as “privileged.”
Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, was tried in New York, in a case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment made to former adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. On May 30, a jury convicted him on all counts as sentencing was expected to be handed down this month.
However, Merchan, who is overseeing the case, on Friday, postponed the sentencing until after the 2024 presidential election.
Merchan announced in a four-page decision that the sentencing would now be on November 26 instead of September 18. The 2024 election will be held on November 5 as Trump will face off against Vice President Kamala Harris, who won the Democratic presidential nomination after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on July 21.
“This matter is one that stands alone, in a unique place in this Nation’s history, and this Court has presided over it since its inception,” Merchan wrote. He said that if the conviction ultimately stands, the court would be “faced with one of the most critical and difficult decisions a trial court judge faces—the sentencing of a defendant found guilty of crimes by a unanimous jury of his peers.”
In an appearance on Fox News on Friday, Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School who has been supportive of Trump in his legal cases, spoke about the delay as he pointed out that he believes there was evidence Merchan allowed that the Supreme Court would view as “privileged.”
“The election has grown in considerable importance in terms of this sentencing, but keep in mind whatever Merchan does it doesn’t change what he previously did in this case. I think he has committed layers of reversible error. I think there was evidence at his trial that the Supreme Court would view as privileged and should not have been before the jury,” Turley, a frequent Fox News commentator, said. “So there is a long runway between here and there when it comes to any jail sentence.”
Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s spokesperson and Bragg’s office via email for comment.
Former President Donald Trump speaks at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30 in New York City. Following a delay in the sentencing in Trump’s criminal hush money case, lawyer Jonathan Turley said on Friday the Supreme Court would view evidence allowed by Judge Juan Merchan as “privileged.”
Justin Lane – Pool/Getty Images
Turley’s comments come after the Supreme Court ruled in a landmark July 1 decision that president’s enjoy broad immunity for their official acts while in office. However, prosecutors contend that the New York case is not impacted by this decision, saying that Trump undertook his actions related to the case in his capacity as a private citizen.
On August 29, Trump’s legal team sought to move the sentencing in the hush money case to federal court based on the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling.
However, federal judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected the request. It was the second time that Hellerstein rejected the former president’s transfer request.
The judgment read: “Nothing in the Supreme Court’s opinion affects my previous conclusion that the hush money payments were private, unofficial acts, outside the bounds of executive authority.”
Trump, meanwhile, has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. He and his supporters have argued that the legal case in New York and all other prosecutions and legal actions against him are politically motivated. They say that these cases are an effort spearheaded by Democrats to undermine his presidential campaign.
“There should be no sentencing in the Manhattan DA’s Election Interference Witch Hunt. As mandated by the United States Supreme Court, this case, along with all of the other Harris-Biden Hoaxes, should be dismissed.” Trump’s spokesperson Steven Cheung told Newsweek on Friday.
“The Manhattan D.A. Witch Hunt has been postponed because everyone realizes that there was NO CASE, I DID NOTHING WRONG!” Trump posted to his social media platform Truth Social on Friday afternoon. “It is a political attack against me by Comrade Kamala Harris and other Radical Left Opponents for purposes of Election Interference, and is a case that should have never been brought.”
Meanwhile, Dave Aronberg, the state attorney for Palm Beach County, Florida, previously told Newsweek in a Friday email before Merchan’s decision, “There is no good reason to postpone Trump’s sentencing any further. He won’t be sent straight to prison and will be allowed to appeal the ruling right away, so there is no threat of irreparable harm. Trump can still appeal the decision like any other defendant. At some point, equal justice under the law has to mean something.”
Trump could face up to four years in prison when he is sentenced. However, many legal experts believe the judge is more likely to sentence him to probation or a shorter jail sentence. Jailing a former president would create significant logistical challenges, as he is entitled to Secret Service protection for the rest of his life.
