Fox News commentator Andrew McCarthy expects Donald Trump to face prison in September due to hush money case, benefiting Kamala Harris's presidential bid.
Andrew McCarthy, a Fox News commentator and former assistant U.S. attorney, expects Donald Trump to face prison time in September in charges related to the hush money case. McCarthy argues that Judge Juan Merchan is using this sentencing to brand Trump as a convicted felon just before the 2024 election, which he believes will benefit Vice President Kamala Harris for her presidential bid.
Additionally, Judge Merchan has rejected Trump's plea to save himself from the case, which is being led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Will Trump face prison time before the elections?
In early June, a jury found the ex-president and the Republican candidate for president guilty of 34 charges of falsifying business records. Following this conviction, the defence counsel for Trump has been diligently pushing efforts to postpone the execution of the sentence. The former prez has petitioned the judge in New York to postpone the execution of the sentence until after the November presidential election.
“On July 1, the U.S. Supreme Court held that presidents (including former presidents) are (a) presumptively immune from criminal prosecution for any official acts taken as president.” McCarthy wrote in his piece. “And (b) absolutely immune if the official acts are core constitutional duties of the chief executive,” he added.
McCarthy thinks Trump might end up in jail, but he's not sure if that will happen right away because they're probably going to let him out on bail while they figure out if he can appeal. Some legal experts are worried that putting Trump in prison could trigger a constitutional crisis, leading to emergency motions to postpone the sentence.
McCarthy also stated that Judge Merchan's goal is to give Harris, Trump's political opponent, the opportunity to label him as “a convicted felon sentenced to prison” by September 18, a timeframe when voting will have already begun in several key states, like Pennsylvania, which is a big deal in the election.
Trump seeks delay in criminal sentencing
The judge rejected the motion for Trump's recusal, a decision he had hinted at in a letter to the involved parties last week. He also indicated that he would issue a ruling on Trump's immunity claim by August 16. The former president has often tried to postpone the hush money case and his three other criminal cases, which haven't started yet. All this as he eyes the White House for the second term in this year's presidential election and then puts an end to his indictments.
Trump attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove in a letter to the judge wrote, “setting aside naked election-interference objectives, there is no valid countervailing reason for the Court to keep the current sentencing date on the calendar.” The details that were made public on Thursday further read, “There is no basis for continuing to rush.” The request continued, “Accordingly, we respectfully request that any sentencing if one is needed, be adjourned until after the Presidential election.”
