The Manhattan judge who oversaw the hush money trial that resulted in President Donald Trump being convicted is considering tossing the felony convictions after the president’s victory on Tuesday.
Newsmax reported that Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan has given himself a deadline of November 12 to decide whether to set aside the convictions or let them stand. In May of this year, Trump was convicted for supposedly falsifying business records back in 2016.
According to Mediaite, Trump’s court hearing, in which the sentencing would take place, was set for November 26. However, it is now unclear whether that hearing will go ahead.
Merchan has already delayed the sentencing twice so that it would happen after the election. Newsmax reported what CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid had to say about the turn of events. Reid explained, “He’s giving himself a deadline of November 12th to decide if the conviction against Trump should be tossed based on the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on immunity,” and added, “If he tosses the conviction, there’ll be no sentencing.”
The Supreme Court ruled on Trump’s immunity, stating that he cannot be prosecuted for official acts carried out as president. Mediaite reported that should Merchan decide to continue with the sentencing, Reid believes that Trump’s legal team will “say that he is entitled to the same constitutional protections as a sitting president and should be protected from state actors and in this case, state prosecutors and the judge overseeing that case, Judge Juan Merchan.”
The hush money trial is not the only case that might be dropped. The two federal cases spearheaded by special counsel Jack Smith are expected to be dropped as RSBN reports that Smith is now rumored to be exploring ways to terminate his prosecutions.
According to Mediaite, Reid believes he is dropping the charges because “There is no clear answer as to whether a state-level prosecutor, like [Fulton County DA Fani Willis], can prosecute a sitting president.”
