Topline
Former President Donald Trump’s anticipated arraignment next week on criminal charges will be overseen by the same New York state judge who presided over the Trump Organization and former CFO Allen Weisselberg’s convictions for tax fraud—leading Trump to rail against the judge Friday as the ex-president lashes out against his indictment.
Former President Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York City on August 10, 2022.
Key Facts
Trump’s case will be overseen by acting New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, who the ex-president claimed on Truth Social Friday “HATES ME.”
Merchan, who the New York Times notes previously served as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan—the same office that has now indicted Trump—presided over the Manhattan DA’s previous criminal cases against the Trump Organization and Weisselberg, who were charged with tax fraud related to gifts and other “off-the-books” compensation that executives received without the company paying tax on it.
Weisselberg was sentenced to five months in prison after taking a plea deal—versus a possible sentence of up to 15 years if he had pleaded not guilty and was convicted at trial—and the Trump Organization was convicted by a jury and sentenced by Merchan to pay $1.6 million, the maximum penalty for its crimes.
Trump, who has slammed the charges against him as “Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history,” claimed on Truth Social the judge “railroaded” Weisselberg to take a plea deal and claimed Merchan had “treated my companies … VICIOUSLY.”
“APPEALING!” Trump said, though his legal team has so far not appeared to file any official request with the court to appear before a different judge.
What To Watch For
Trump is expected to surrender to authorities and be arraigned on Tuesday. He will plead guilty or not guilty at his arraignment and have his fingerprints and mugshot taken, but it’s not expected Trump will be held in custody at all, and his attorney has said he will not be handcuffed. Once he’s arraigned, it will likely be months—at the least—before he could be convicted, as experts cited by Reuters noted Manhattan criminal cases typically take more than a year to go to trial.
Surprising Fact
Merchan is also overseeing the ongoing New York case against former Trump advisor Steve Bannon over his involvement with the “We Build the Wall” fundraising scheme.
Tangent
Among the non-Trump related cases that Merchan has presided over include the “Soccer Mom Madam,” the case of a suburban mother who pleaded guilty to running a prostitution ring on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and a murder case in which a witch doctor was called as a witness as the murder defendant claimed he had acted under the “influence of evil spirits.”
Key Background
Trump was indicted Thursday on charges stemming from “hush money” payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016, which Trump allegedly reimbursed ex-attorney Michael Cohen for and mislabeled as “legal expenses.” The indictment is still sealed but reportedly brings more than 30 counts against Trump related to business fraud, likely for falsifying business expenses—which can be a felony and punishable by up to four years in prison in New York if done to cover up another crime. The indictment against Trump and the tax fraud charges against his company and Weisselberg are all products of the Manhattan DA’s long-running investigation into Trump and his company, which began in 2019. The probe initially began by looking into the payments to Daniels before expanding to look more broadly at the Trump Organization and its financials, resulting in the company and Weisselberg’s indictments. No charges were brought against Trump directly stemming from the tax fraud allegations, however, and after the investigation initially appeared to cool off, the Times reported in November that prosecutors had revived their inquiry into the hush money payments.
Further Reading
Trump Indicted In Manhattan—Here’s What Will Happen Next (Yes, He’ll Probably Get A Mugshot) (Forbes)
Trump Indicted By Manhattan Grand Jury—Arraignment Expected Tuesday On Over 30 Charges, Reports Say (Forbes)
Trump Organization Ordered To Pay $1.6 Million For Tax Fraud (Forbes)
Judge in Trump Company Trial Knew How to Read the Numbers (New York Times)
Trump Judge Has Had Some Dramatic Cases, Like ‘Soccer Mom Madam’ (Bloomberg)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2023/03/31/trump-criminal-charges-to-be-overseen-by-same-judge-juan-merchan-who-sentenced-his-company-for-tax-fraud-and-hes-not-happy-about-it/