Judge Merchan Schedules Trump’s Sentencing Just Days Before Crucial Campaign Event

Judge Juan Merchan has scheduled former President Donald Trump’s sentencing on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records for a key date in the 2024 presidential election cycle.

Trump is due to be sentenced on July 11, just days before Republicans are set to formally nominate him for president. While the convention has always been a historically significant event for any presidential contender, Trump has long hinted that he will be naming his running mate during convention week, adding to the stakes.

The charge of falsifying business records is generally a misdemeanor in New York City, though Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump with felony counts after alleging that he falsified records in order to conceal another crime. The D.A.’s office never identified the alleged underlying crime, while Judge Juan Merchan told jurors that they did not have to agree on what the never-identified crime even was.

Bragg also used COVID-era policies to extend the statute of limitations, which had long since expired, in order to bring the case, which he pursued after both the Department of Justice and FEC declined to bring charges after conducting their own respective investigations.

Each felony count against Trump carries a maximum prison sentence of four years. The former president was convicted on all 34 counts.

Judge Merchan will now debate whether or not to sentence the former president to prison. Other options include a fine or probation.

It is also possible that Merchan would allow Trump to avoid serving any punishment until the expectedly lengthy appellate process has played out.

After Trump’s sentencing is handed down, he can challenge his conviction in an appellate division of the state’s trial court and possibly, the state’s highest court. The presidential frontrunner has already vowed to appeal the case while his legal team has already been laying groundwork for the possibility.

Trump’s lawyers are expected to point to numerous examples of political bias that plagued the case, including the fact that Judge Juan Merchan donated to President Biden’s campaign. His daughter, Loren Merchan, is a prominent Democrat political consultant who has raised millions of dollars for top Democrats across the country, including the Biden Campaign.

D.A. Bragg also campaigned on prosecuting Trump, while his team was comprised of numerous Democrat donors and operatives. This includes Matthew Colangelo, who served as the number three in the Biden Department of Justice before joining Bragg’s office as a prosecutor.