Last April, Donald Trump made his first appearance in Lower Manhattan court. He just became the first president, current or former, to be indicted on a criminal charge. The situation was undeniably historic, and as his motorcade headed downtown from Trump Tower, crowds began to gather. concentrate. On one side of the police line were protesters who created signs showing Trump behind bars or in an orange jumpsuit; on the other hand are the former president’s supporters, incl Marjorie Taylor Greene, person holding a bullhorn.
Looking back at the scene, it sets up a long anti-climax. Trump was finally convicted this spring on 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to Daniels storms. But he successfully leveraged the charges against him in New York and several other jurisdictions to build an outlaw brand—his Georgia mug shot became an icon characterized his campaign — and in winning the 2024 election, he effectively put the immediate issue of his freedom to rest. Even Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer and the prosecution’s key witness in the Manhattan case, speak told me this week that the verdict should be overturned.
On Friday, Justice Juan Mercan, The judge in the case said he would allow Trump’s lawyers to formally seek dismissal. And meanwhile, he confirmed that Trump will not be sentenced next week as expected, postponing the hearing indefinitely. The sentencing was delayed several times after Trump’s conviction in May and was soon followed by the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling, which shielded Trump from criminal prosecution for his actions. official. Earlier this week, prosecutors said they would not drop the case and suggested that sentencing could be delayed until the end of Mr. Trump’s term in 2029.
In its final game, the long story has now been pared down to something more procedural. The motion to dismiss the lawsuit based on Mr. Trump’s election victory will come in December, just weeks before he takes office for a second term as president.
