Trump calls hush money case 'rigged charade' after judge sets sentencing date
President-elect Trump took to Truth Social to share his frustration after a judge set a Jan. 10 sentencing date in his New York hush money case, calling out a gag order which prevents him from discussing court staffers and prosecutors.
“This illegitimate political attack is nothing but a Rigged Charade. ‘Acting’ Justice Merchan, who is a radical partisan, just issued another order that is knowingly unlawful, goes against our Constitution and, if allowed to stand, would be the end of the Presidency as we know it,” the incoming president wrote in a Friday Truth Social post.
“Merchan has so little respect for the Constitution that he is keeping in place an illegal gag order on me, your President and President Elect, just so I cannot expose his and his family’s disqualifying and illegal conflicts,” he added.
Earlier Friday, New York Judge Juan Merchan ordered the sentencing for Jan. 10, rejecting Trump's demand the case be dismissed to accommodate his upcoming presidency. He signaled he is inclined to impose no punishment for his felony conviction. This fall, Trump appealed a partial gag order relating to the hush money case, but it was thrown out and remains in place.
In May, a New York jury found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment his ex-fixer made to porn actor Stormy Daniels with the intention of influencing the 2016 presidential election.
After the sentencing announcement Friday, Trump's spokesperson Steven Cheung said the case should be dismissed, referencing a presidential immunity clause that Merchan said cannot be applied.
“Today’s order by the deeply conflicted, Acting Justice Merchan in the Manhattan DA Witch Hunt is a direct violation of the Supreme Court’s Immunity decision and other longstanding jurisprudence,” Cheung said.
On Friday, Trump also criticized Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is expected to resign before the president takes office.
“Merchan took the Bragg Hoax that, according to all Legal Scholars, should have been dead on arrival and, through his fraud and misconduct, gave it a semblance of ‘life,’” the Republican wrote in a subsequent post.
“While Deranged Jack Smith was 'sent packing' back to The Hague, after losing all of his politically manufactured cases against me, Merchan, who is far worse and even more corrupt than Smith in his fight for my hopeless Political Opponents, just cannot let go of this charade.”
Trump has the option to virtually appear for the sentencing which will take place ahead of his inauguration. The incoming president still has a chance to appeal the guilty verdict declared by jurors.