UPDATE ON PROTECTING THE NY CONVICTION AND SENTENCING TRUMP: JUDGE MERCHAN DELAYS DECISIONS UNTIL AFTER THE ELECTION

My blog on the brilliant memo by New York D.A. Alvin Bragg to refute Trump’s effort to set aside his conviction was published literally minutes before the judge who presided over the trial, Juan Merchan, decided to delay both Trump’s sentencing and his decision on Trump’s motion to set aside his conviction until after the Presidential election.

Judge Merchan issued his decision in a 4-page letter to both the D.A. and Trump’s attorney that postponed the ruling on setting aside the conviction to Nov. 12 and sentencing to two weeks later, on November 26. He denied Trump’s motion to prevent the prosecution from filing a pre-sentence memorandum and criticized Trump’s efforts in his motion to repeat his many unsubstantiated grievances from previous filings as not worthy of response. Judge Merchan, on page 3 of his letter, cites as part of the rationale that, “Adjourning decision on the motion and sentencing, if such is required, should dispel any suggestion that the Court will have issued any decision or imposed sentence either to give an advantage to, or create a disadvantage for, any political party and/or any candidate for any office.”

I respect the Judge’s decision.

In the article, I speculated that Trump would appeal the Judge’s ruling on upholding the conviction immediately and that sentencing might become ensnarled in emergency appeals by Trump to stop the sentencing, which I understand appellate courts have the power to do. I am sure Merchan’s ruling postponing these important matters on the grounds of avoiding the appearance of partisanship was heartfelt, but it was practical too given the separate rules of appellate procedure.

The primary purpose of the blog was to both praise and elaborate upon how Bragg navigated the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling to sustain the conviction. Hush-money payments to a porn-star are not official acts of a President, much of the evidence objected to was about unofficial acts as well, and the overwhelming weight of the evidence, sufficient for guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, was proved without any evidence of official acts. The conviction itself should stand in New York.