Former federal prosecutor Doug Burns commented Friday on Newsmax after Judge Juan Merchan set a sentencing date on President-elect Donald Trump’s case days before his inauguration.
Merchan ruled that there is “no legal impediment” to sentencing Trump before inauguration and mandated his appearance in court on Jan. 10. During an appearance on Newsmax’s “Carl Higbie: Frontline,” Burns slammed Merchan’s decision and called it a “disgrace.”
“We said over and over and over that it was an absolutely ridiculous case. But Carl, not only is he not receiving jail time, he’s receiving no probation. Make sure you understand that. The sentence is gonna be what we call a conditional discharge, which is no probation at all. And you just leave the building, setting up the obvious sarcastic, rhetorical question,” Burns told Higbie after the host said Trump shouldn’t have been in court at all.
“And, in point of fact, you don’t see conditional discharge sentences on felony cases.”
Criminal defense attorney Ken Belkin also chimed in and criticized how Merchan handled the case. Belkin said he believes the charges should have been dismissed.
“Everything about this case from the outset of it set it up for appeal. And, quite frankly, Judge Merchan should have slapped down District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case in the first place. There are numerous reasons why this case should have not gone forward, let alone gone forward to a trial and verdict,” Belkin told Higbie when asked if the sentencing is set up for an appeal.
As Trump prepares to challenge the verdict, Burns and Higbie discussed the possibility of overturning the decision.
“If you looked at it objectively and reasonably, my goodness, look at the conduct. Look at the appearance. This has been propriety all over the place. But you’re in this ridiculous fantasy land of hotbed anti-Trumpism, where the vote was 80, 20, I’m just estimating,” Burns said. “And it’s really disgraceful. But the point is, you know, the judge though, Carl, I’ll tell you what, he knew he couldn’t adjourn it four years.”
A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records linked to a nondisclosure agreement with adult film actress Stormy Daniels, concluding a protracted trial in May.
The sentencing, initially scheduled for just before the Republican National Convention in July, has faced multiple postponements. Sentencing was first deferred following the Supreme Court’s July decision on presidential immunity. After Trump’s victory in the November election, Merchan had indefinitely postponed the sentencing.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/Newsmax)
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