On Friday, the sentencing of President-elect Donald Trump saw one of the most impassioned defense arguments given at such a hearing in years … from the judge himself.
Acting Justice Juan Merchan admitted that the case was “unique and remarkable” but insisted that “once the courtroom doors were closed, the trial itself was no more special, unique, and extraordinary than the other 32 cases in this courthouse.”
If so, that is a damning indictment of the entire New York court system. Merchan allowed a dead misdemeanor to be resuscitated by allowing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to effectively prosecute declined federal offenses.
He allowed a jury to convict Trump without any agreement, let alone unanimity, on what actually occurred in the case.
Merchan ruled that the jury did not have to agree on why Trump committed an alleged offense in describing settlement costs as legal costs.
Neither the defendant nor the public will ever know what the jury ultimately found in its verdict.
I once described this case as a legal Frankenstein: “It is the ultimate gravedigger charge, where Bragg unearthed a case from 2016 and, through a series of novel steps, is seeking to bring it back to life … Bragg is combining parts from both state and federal codes.”
Even liberal legal experts have denounced the case and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) recently called it total “bulls–t.”
Now, Merchan seemed quick to assure this Frankenstein case was just like any other creature of the court. It did not matter that it was stitched together from dead cases and zapped into life through lawfare.
Merchan knows that there is a fair chance this monstrosity will finally die on appeal, and he was making the case for his own conduct.
The verdict, however, is likely to last far longer than the Trump verdict. It is a judgment against not just Merchan but the New York legal system, which allowed itself to be weaponized against political opponents.
Trump can now appeal the case as a whole. Prior appeals in the New York court system were unsuccessful, and hopes are low that the system will redeem itself.
However, Trump can eventually escape the vortex of the New York court system in search of jurists willing to see beyond the rage and bring reason to this case.
Merchan’s monster will now go on the road and work its way back to the Supreme Court. Outside of New York, this freak attraction will likely be viewed as less thrilling than chilling.
Lawfare is that monster. It threatens us all, even those who hate Trump and his supporters. Once released, it spreads panic among the public, which can no longer rely on the guarantees of blind and fair justice.
That includes businesses that view this case and the equally absurd civil case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James as creating a dangerous and even lawless environment. Many are saying “There but for the grace of God go I” in a system that allows for selective prosecution.
Many will be blamed as the creators of this monster but few will escape that blame, including Merchan himself.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
