‘Worst Instance Of Stalinism’: Alan Dershowitz, Gregg Jarrett Rip Into Merchan Over Trump’s ‘Sham Trial’

Prominent attorney Alan Dershowitz and legal analyst Gregg Jarrett, Friday on Fox News, called out New York Judge Juan Merchan for his updated sentencing schedule, saying that city officials and the judge brought a “sham trial” against President-elect Donald Trump.

With fewer than three weeks until Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, Merchan released a filing Friday evening ordering that Trump’s sentencing in his New York case be scheduled for Jan. 10, writing that there is “no legal impediment” to impose the former president’s sentencing. On “Hannity,” guest host Jason Chaffetz questioned the two legal pundits about their views. Dershowitz, given the case’s political motivations, asked if Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul could pardon Trump.

“This is the worst instance of Stalinism in my 60-year career. Stalin was told, ‘Show me the man and I’ll find you the crime.’ So Letitia James, the Democratic attorney general, and Alvin Bragg, the Democratic DA, tried to find a crime to convict Trump of, but they couldn’t,” Dershowitz said. “They couldn’t find the crime. They searched the books. They couldn’t find the crime, so they made one up out of whole cloth. A totally made-up case. If they can make up a case against Donald Trump, they can make it up against you too.”

“Now they’re trying to avoid him getting an appeal. One way of avoiding him getting an appeal was not sentencing him. Now they’re going to sentence him,” Dershowitz added. “There’s another possibility. The governor may pardon him. If the governor pardons him, then he still has the stigma of a conviction, and there’s a question about whether he can appeal if he’s been pardoned.”

During Trump’s trial, questions arose regarding President Joe Biden and his Department of Justice’s involvement in the case. Bragg added Biden’s former acting associate attorney general to his team in December 2022 to lead the probe into the Trump Foundation. Others, like Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, have