Trump to escalate blame on trial judge Juan Merchan if sentenced to prison

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Sat 8 Jun 2024 09.00 EDT


Donald Trump is determined to avoid jail, but if he does get handed a prison sentence after his conviction on 34 felony counts in New York last week, the former president’s inner circle is certain he will lay the blame squarely at the judge’s feet, sources familiar with the matter said.

The precise way Trump might blame the judge, Juan Merchan, remains unclear because Trump has been avoidant of the issue and the matter was not resolved when he huddled with his top advisers at a Trump Tower meeting immediately after the verdict on Thursday, the sources said.

But Trump is likely to double down on his attacks against Merchan, directing his supporters at rallies and in Truth Social posts to take up their grievances with the judge, one of the sources added. The consequences of Trump’s likely rhetoric are difficult to predict. Trump has been railing against Merchan for months as being unfair and in conspiracy cahoots with the Biden administration to prevent him from campaigning – and nothing concrete has happened.

Still, Trump’s supporters have a history of making threats against judges Trump has assailed, including death threats to Tanya Chutkan, the US district judge who is presiding in his federal 2020 election interference case, and to the chambers of the New York judge who oversaw his civil fraud trial.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/08/trump-trial-judge-juan-merchan-prison-sentence-threats

[Marthe48]

1. The way fascists see crime

the criminal gets a pass, but by all means, threaten the judge. Mafia, anyone?

[Zorro]

2. Sounds like a dare and a threat

[twodogsbarking]

3. I think his confidence is waning. He's doin' number two with his pants on.

[EndlessWire]

4. I don't think Judge Merchan

is obligated in any way to soft peddle Trump's sentencing. Trying to blame the Judge for civil unrest is laughable. Civil unrest is not a reason to avoid sentencing Trump to jail. Trump should have acknowledged his guilt and kept his mouth shut.

Instead, he is trying to push Merchan into a situation where he might have to sentence him to jail just to prove that he isn't helping Trump out. Time was when we said it seemed like Trump was violating gag orders actually hoping that he would get locked up. Well, this seems like another form of that. What is Trump thinking?? This is a power struggle between the Judge and the defendant, which the Judge will surely win.

Maybe they're looking for a trigger of violence which would be way past an actual fair vote in November. Maybe that's somehow the way he figures to take the Presidency, with another coup. Meanwhile, he intends to screw with the Probation Officer. I think that's why Blanche is going to be there during the interview. He's not there to stay silent, but to communicate. This interview isn't a deposition, but I'll bet he treats it like one.

My preferences: Trump flees, Judge issues a bench warrant (best for the country,) Trump gets sentenced to 1 year in jail (highly unlikely, but Trump couldn't do anything about it,) Trump gets at least 4 years probation (we get to search without a warrant every blessed place he owns or rents, for classified docs, starting the day after he's sentenced.)

I don't think Merchan is afraid of Trump, nor Bragg. I hope Trump keeps threatening the Judge, so Merchan can sentence him for contempt of court. He was warned that his next stop would be jail if he did not obey the gag order. So be it. He's just doing everything to himself.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

5. A power struggle between the Judge and the defendant, which the Judge will surely win.

Judge Merchan has character, T***p doesn't. The judge cannot be bullied, or bought off, or threatened without TFG suffering the consequences of his own actions.

"Lack of character" is the foundation of the GQP. When T***p falls -- and he will, if for no other reason than the inevitable visit from the Grim Reaper -- the party is going to be left wandering in the wilderness without a leader or purpose. Then it will die. Vengeance is a very poor party platform.

[AverageOldGuy]

6. Judge Merchan no doubt . . .

. . . is cowering in fear behind locked doors.

Merchan has flushed better turds than Trump down the toilet.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

7. I say, who cares?

He's a whiny little sniveling baby, who has never done anything wrong and everyone is out to get him. It's equivalent to a 3 year old throwing a tantrum at the grocery store. Scream on baby, the only listeners are people who will harm your chances of avoiding punishment. If they do something to 'help' you the law will descend on them like a ton of bricks (I hope! )

[Tarzanrock]

8. The easiest out.

Maybe, the easiest out is for Judge Merchan to make a factual determination that the Turd's behavior and his conduct is "abnormal" and then order the Turd to submit to a comprehensive physical examination and a comprehensive psychiatric examination by a cadre of psychologists, neuro-psychologists, psychiatrists and neuro-psychiatrists together with extensive brain scan imaging at some New York City psychiatric hospital like Gracie Square Hospital, Bellvue Hospital - Psychiatry, the Manhattan Psychiatric Center, Columbia New York State Psychiatric Center or others. The medical reports and findings of these examinations and imaging studies would be submitted to the Court and become part of the Court's "sentencing" record and available to the public as filed court documents. The American people would then learn the true state of the Turd's mental health and they would know with some degree of medical certitude that the Turd is a complete mental case whacko.

[Rhiannon12866]

9. An attorney on MSNBC said that TFG's lawyers could plead "diminished capacity" for him

Which would result in him being placed in an institution other than prison, but said he knows they'd never do it.

[Traurigkeit]

14. Not a spine to be seen among them

[Rhiannon12866]

15. TFG is likely still calling the shots including instructing his lawyers - and we've seen how that's turned out

[jmowreader]

29. That's going to be a difficult case to make

“He has enough ‘capacity’ to run for President but not enough to understand that what he did is wrong? I don’t think I can really agree with that.”

[ThoughtCriminal]

10. Escalate?

He's already gone full Chernobyl-Class meltdown. Dude's going to blow an O-ring.

[ArkansasDemocrat1]

11. I keep imagining tiny hamberders with axes chopping away inside

Go, Hamberders! Go!

The only bad thing is now my phone knows 'hamberders'.

[Arne]

27. Alexa? How do you cook a hamberder?

[ZonkerHarris]

12. John Gotti hated judges too.

[Traurigkeit]

13. TSF is a nobody since Jan 6th, 2021. So why are people listening to the smuck?

He is now Mr. xxxxxx only.
Another cog, nothing much at all
The Cult makes him so, the stupid politicians with 6 years and state and local owe it nothing.

So many stupid people in The once Republican Party.

They destroyed themselves. They could not Pull Up Their Own Bootstraps to get to a better place.

What fools. MSM hitched their reputations on that dead party for GREED, nothing else.

No wonder all those gamblers are pissed at the poll numbers and then the actual results.

White people are so stupid when they are only followers in a group, not an actual thinking, thoughtful person in over 200,000+ Republican politicians.

[yup I'll get heat from that but I have a view that they do not have and had/have to fight each day to maintain my place in the world and many here do the same]

[mahina]

16. This just in

He and his are terrorists. Our public servants and institutions deserve all our vigorous and vocal support.

[Layzeebeaver]

17. Hearsay as evidence

This entire article is bull shit.

let us wait and see the result of the NY justice system.

[COL Mustard]

18. Do we need to remind his

Secret Service detail that they’re also Law Enforcement Officers? He’s expecting them to be his goons, it seems.

[Attilatheblond]

30. Time for the Service to switch the personnel on his detail

Put in some REAL law and order types with no sense of humor or tolerance for fools.

[Tarzanrock]

19. It's now a different ball game for the Turd.

It's now a different ball game for the Turd. He is now a convicted felon criminal convicted of 34 Felony Crimes in New York State. The trial is over. The rules have changed for him since he became a convicted felon. He has to answer to the Probation Officer of the Court for many highly personal and private aspects of his entire life. I think that under NY law he will have to provide a DNA sample and submit to all kinds of other restrictions aside from those restrictions already imposed by his bail arrangement and the gag orders of the Court. He has a whole lot of "explaining" to do to all the form questions which felons have to answer to that probation officer. Questions about his prior criminal conduct, his fraudulent business conduct, his business fraudulent convictions, his civil fraudulent convictions, the E. Jean Carroll case civil convictions, his sex life, his mental health, etc. -- none of which he is going to want to truthfully answer -- and any falsification of any answer opens up the perjury question. The written report from the probation office will be fascinating to read and something for the history books. It's going to be a "real hoot" when he falsely tells the Probation Officer how "remorseful" he is for the crimes which he committed and was convicted of committing by the unanimous jury.

[Wonder Why]

20. "The judge made me commit those crimes"

[eppur_se_muova]

21. Hard to do without phone and mail priviliges. Give him 1/hr week, face-to-face in the Visitor's Room.

No special privileges not given to other prisoners.

https://legalaidnyc.org/get-help/bail-incarceration/what-you-need-to-know-about-communication-with-people-in-custody/

[Kid Berwyn]

22. Lock them up.

Traitors.

[republianmushroom]

23. Yup, one can understand why.

It was the judges fault that the convicted felon cooked those books back in 2016, and screwed that porn star.
Yup, he didn't want to do it but was forced to do it by the judge.

[Traurigkeit]

24. Wonder who hired and paid Mr. Cohen ?

[republianmushroom]

25. Why the judge, of course.

[Raven123]

26. Must be a slow news day at the The Guardian. This is a given

[Lovie777]

28. Nothing new.......................

that's all shithole does, he is miserable all the time, and doesn't mind inflicting that misery on the rest of us.