MADRID 4 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, attacked Judge Juan Merchan this Friday, accusing him of carrying out an “illegitimate political attack” in relation to his appearance on January 10, when he must hear the ruling on the case. of alleged bribery of former adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, known as ‘Stormy Daniels’.
“This illegitimate political attack is nothing more than a rigged farce. “Acting” Judge Merchan, who is a radical partisan, has just issued another order that is knowingly illegal, goes against our Constitution and, if allowed to if it is maintained, it would be the end of the Presidency as we know it,” he stated on his account on the social network Truth Social, which he himself promulgated.
The Republican magnate has harshly criticized the judge, accusing him of “having so little respect for the Constitution” that he has maintained a silence order that he considers illegal.
“I am the only political opponent in the history of the United States who is not allowed to defend himself – a despicable violation of the First Amendment!” he denounced.
Thus, Trump has concluded that “this has to end”: “It is time to end Lawfare once and for all, so we can unite as one nation.”
The judge has ordered Trump to appear on January 10 to hear the ruling on that case. This is clear from a document collected by the American press in which Judge Merchan emphasizes that Trump will be convicted, although he will not face legal sanctions. The president-elect can still appeal any possible conviction, while the Prosecutor’s Office has refused to comment on the facts.
Merchan’s ruling puts an end to two months of speculation and maneuvering between Trump’s lawyers and the US Justice Department once the magnate won the presidential elections last November. Trump will take office on January 20, ten days before the sentencing.
Trump was convicted in April on a total of 34 charges, when he was not even confirmed as an official candidate for the White House.
b The judge, who postponed ‘sine die’ the hearing in which it will be known whether he is finally sentenced to prison, held him responsible for falsifying documents to hide a payment of $130,000 to ‘Stormy Daniels’, whom he paid to did not talk about an alleged extramarital relationship.
The Supreme Court ruled that former presidents have immunity from prosecution for official acts, noting that evidence related to Trump’s work as president could not be used in the trial.
The magnate’s defense argued that the ruling by the country’s highest court meant that the conviction should be annulled and the accusation dismissed, but Merchan pointed out that immunity does not affect this case.
Trump’s conviction carries the possibility of up to four years in prison, which could however be replaced by a wide range of alternatives to incarceration ranging from probation to payment of fines.