Former DOJ Official Explains How Merchan Might Manipulate Trump’s Trial Timing For Political Gain

Former President George W. Bush Department of Justice (DOJ) official John Yoo, Thursday on Fox Business, shared his insights on how he thinks Judge Juan Merchan is mishandling President-elect Donald Trump’s case.

During an appearance on “The Evening Edit,” Yoo criticized Merchan for delaying actions that Yoo says could resolve the trial immediately, such as dismissing the case or ordering a new trial, in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s July 1 decision that identified flaws in the proceedings. Yoo said that Merchan’s reluctance to speed up the trial processes appears politically motivated.

“I think Judge Merchan’s quest to get his white whale, Donald Trump, is what we’re going to see tomorrow. He’s revealing the real political nature of what he and District Attorney Alvin Bragg in New York City have been up to all along, because he’s already said he’s not going to sentence Trump to jail,” Yoo told Elizabeth MacDonald. “But, he still wants to sentence Trump with just 11 days before Trump becomes president, so there’s no time for Trump to effectively appeal this case.”

Yoo said that this move was calculated to damage Trump’s legacy and future.

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“We all know that Merchan is going to either have to throw the case out or hold a new jury trial at some point, because the Supreme Court on July 1 said that this trial was flawed. And so what Merchan would do, why I say it’s political, is because he’s dragged his feet for six months when he could have done any of these other things. So that he could ensure that Trump would be the first felon president in our history,” the former DOJ official said.

Host MacDonald then said there were discrepancies in the prosecution’s approach. She said that the case, often minimized to a misdemeanor level, has escalated to federal felonies under the guise of campaign finance violations.