‘Screaming For Appellate Review’: Jonathan Turley Recounts Merchan’s Decisions In Trump Trial After Sentencing Delay

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said Friday that New York Judge Juan Merchan had to address a “very difficult question” from the criminal trial before he could sentence former President Donald Trump.

Merchan delayed Trump’s sentencing hearing from Sept. 18 to Nov. 26 in a Friday ruling, citing the upcoming presidential election. Turley said that the Supreme Court’s July 1 immunity ruling may invalidate Trump’s May 30 conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records.

“This is not what you’ve come to expect from Judge Merchan. I sat in that courtroom and, quite frankly, I was baffled by many of his decisions. I felt he made some rulings that were clearly in error, he ruled largely in favor of the prosecution and against the former president,” Turley told “America Reports” co-hosts John Roberts and Sandra Smith in a phone interview. “That is the reason I think there are aspects of this trial which are really screaming for appellate review. But this is the correct decision.”

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“I mean, he not only has a lot of work to do, because… this is a very difficult question about whether the Supreme Court decision will invalidate this conviction,” Turley continued. “I’ve always believed that he would ultimately uphold the conviction, but he can’t just do that with a wave of his hand. He’s going to have to explain why clearly privileged evidence that he let into the trial was not determinative, was not essential to any conviction. I think that’s the argument that he’s likely to embrace.”