Trump attorney Alina Habba joined 'America's Newsroom' to discuss why Trump's New York criminal case should be dismissed after Judge Juan Merchan delayed a major decision on his convictions. "The law is an ass" is an English proverb now liberally practiced by certain American judges who are neither sensible nor fair. New York Judge Juan Merchan has consistently proven the point by his maltreatment of Donald Trump in the ill-conceived, if not farcical, prosecution brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg . The case resulted in preordained guilty verdicts last May in a trial that stands as a monument to injustice. But on Friday, in the aftermath of Trump’s presidential victory, Merchan postponed indefinitely next week’s scheduled sentencing and reluctantly agreed to formally consider a defense motion to dismiss the case entirely. A sensible and fair judge would grant it. That may exclude Merchan. NEW YORK JUDGE GRANTS TRUMP REQUEST TO FILE MOTION TO DISMISS CHARGES, CANCELS SENTENCING INDEFINITELY In previous letters to the judge, defense attorneys make a compelling argument that the convictions should be vacated given their client’s election as the next commander-in-chief. It is a position that is constitutionally unique. They correctly contend that "immediate dismissal is mandated by the federal Constitution , the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, and the interest of justice to facilitate the orderly transition of executive power..." Indeed, it is well established that presidents are immune from any criminal process, state or federal. This same principle necessarily extends to a president-elect who must be free from "disruption occasioned by the transfer of power." (3 U.S.C. 102 note) States have no authority to transgress federal laws passed by Congress, including the Transition Act. Interference by a local prosecutor and/or judge could jeopardize the national interest and prove detrimental to the safety and well being of its people, as the statute explains. BRAGG VS. TRUMP: NYC IS DROWNING IN CRIME. HOW DOES CONVICTING THE FORMER PRESIDENT MAKE US SAFE? In his Friday order, Merchan also recognized his authority to set aside the verdicts if mistakes were made at trial which would merit reversal. There were so many that you’d need a calculator with infinity technology to keep track. Chief among them was that prosecutors relied on tainted evidence prohibited in the presidential immunity standard enunciated by the Supreme Court on July 1. Testimony from White House officials such as Hope Hicks and Madeleine Westerhout, as well as numerous presidential records, should never have been introduced. They quite clearly constituted "official acts" that are protected and thereby inadmissible, just as the defense argued in vain pre-trial. Merchan was unmoved. Judge Merchan's courtroom was a cesspool of incomprehensible rulings that deprived Trump of a fair trial. Both judge and prosecutors worked in concert to engineer the guilty verdicts. For months, Bragg has opposed dismissal. He implausibly claims that such immunity evidence was wholly unimportant and had "no bearing" on the outcome. Really? Why then did his prosecutors emphasize the crucial nature of that very evidence during closing arguments? Considering Merchan’s blatant anti-Trump bias throughout the trial, he could still side with Bragg by asserting that the court’s reversible error was merely harmless and had little or no impact on the jury’s verdicts. If he does, the judge must to turn a blind eye to how the high court specifically foreclosed this type of harmless-error analysis. BRAGG CASE 'EFFECTIVELY OVER' IN 'MAJOR VICTORY,' TRUMP OFFICIALS SAY Should Merchan reject dismissal, it would allow the Trump team to seek an immediate appeal on the immunity issue. It represents such an affront to the law that the entire case stands an excellent chance of being overturned on that basis. The trial court’s immunity mistake is just one of many egregious errors committed by Merchan. His courtroom was a cesspool of incomprehensible rulings that deprived Trump of a fair trial. Both judge and prosecutors worked in concert to engineer the guilty verdicts. At every turn, they manipulated the law and mangled evidence while operating outside the confines of the legal process. Political bias smothered the defendant’s due process rights. They were run through an industrial-size shredder. The charges themselves were so convoluted as to be incoherent. We still don’t know what Trump was convicted of. Theoretically, bookkeeping errors were allegedly committed to further another crime in an unlawful attempt to influence the 2016 election. But what a minute. What crime exactly? Was it federal campaign law violations? Taxation laws? False business records? Select from the aforementioned menu of imaginary possibilities. TRUMP LAWYERS DEMAND BRAGG CASE BE 'IMMEDIATELY DISMISSED,' SAY ELECTION 'SUPERSEDES' POLITICAL 'MOTIVATIONS' Trump doesn’t even know because prosecutors never said. And neither did the jurors when they rendered their verdicts. In an appalling instruction to the panel, Merchan declared that they did not have to identify which crimes were supposedly perpetrated and need not agree unanimously. Former President Donald Trump appears in court for arraignment before Judge Juan Merchan following his surrender to New York authorities at the New York County Criminal Court earlier this year. (Seth Wenig-Pool Photo via USA TODAY) If you’re scratching your head, you are not alone. Even a high school civics student knows that unanimity in criminal convictions is a bedrock principle. The Supreme Court has reinforced that standard repeatedly. Yet, Merchan ignored it with impunity. The dilemma for Trump is that he can not appeal any of the judge’s legal errors at trial (with the exception of an adverse immunity ruling) until there is an official "adjudication" which occurs only at sentencing. At present, that process is on hold indefinitely. This is by design. Merchan and Bragg both know that the convictions will get tossed if an appellate court ever gets a gander at the trial charade. That is precisely why they aim to defer or delay sentencing, perhaps until after Trump leaves office in 2029. The president would spend four years with a coercive "sword of Damocles" dangling overhead. CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION If that is their unscrupulous scheme, it would violate New York state law (CPL 380.30) which requires sentencing at "a specified date no later than twelve months from the entering of a conviction." Not that Merchan cares. Thus far, he seems unmoved by the great weight of the law that frowns on his Machiavellian machinations. Either determined or desperate, his honor clings dishonorably to a vindictive prosecution. Trump was falsely accused and wrongfully convicted. Yet Merchan persists in propping up a tortured case that should have been quashed by him the moment the indictment was rendered. It was a harebrained prosecution from the outset, motivated by a politically-driven DA who happily embraced the Democrats’ corrupt lawfare campaign against Trump. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP This eight-year-old odyssey is the personification of a shameful miscarriage of justice. The law itself is not an ass. But Merchan has made it look like one. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM GREGG JARRETT Gregg Jarrett is a Fox News legal analyst and commentator, and formerly worked as a defense attorney and adjunct law professor. His recent book, "The Trial of the Century," about the famous "Scopes Monkey Trial" is available in bookstores nationwide or can be ordered online at the Simon & Schuster website. Jarrett’s latest book, "The Constitution of the United States and Other Patriotic Documents," was published by Broadside Books, a division of HarperCollins on November 14, 2023. Gregg is the author of the No. 1 New York Times best-selling book "The Russia Hoax: The Illicit Scheme to Clear Hillary Clinton and Frame Donald Trump." His follow-up book was also a New York Times bestseller, "Witch Hunt: The Story of the Greatest Mass Delusion in American Political History."Kids Don't miss out on the headlines from Kids. Followed categories will be added to My News. Each year, influencer and business owner Roxy Jacenko shares her children’s extravagant Christmas wish lists, causing parents everywhere to collectively gasp when they see the eye-watering total. And this year is no different, with her 10-year-old son Hunter Curtis’ list being as luxe as ever. “Every year I look forward to seeing what he comes up with, and this year was my favourite yet,” Jacenko told news.com.au. “The best bit, technology in the classroom has taken what used to be pen-and-paper wishlists to PowerPoint, but this year Hunty was proud of his writing skills, so wrote it, which was nice to see.” The 44-year-old mum took to Instagram on the weekend to share his handwritten list, which included items that are worth over $4500 in total. Roxy Jacenko has shared her son's $4500 Christmas wishlist. Picture: Instagram MORE: Trophy homes of Roxy and other Aussie celebs In addition to several soccer shirts and balls, the pre-teen included the latest models of Nike sports shoes and clarified that he’s happy for them to be in “any colourway”, flexing his fashion lingo. He also asked for a pair of LeBron James XXII basketball shoes, $280, Nike Jr Mercurial Vapor Pro shoes, $200, and Giannis Immortality 4 shoes, $110. The pre-teen then listed several soccer jerseys he wanted from West Ham United, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, and Barcelona, each valued between $100 and $150. The cheapest item on the list was a Nike Pro basketball, priced at $50, which he asked for alongside an Adidas soccer ball and a Nike soccer ball. Hunter Curtis, 10, pictured alongside his mum. Picture: Instagram Also on the list was an iPad Pro, $2929 , which his mum says he has done his homework on. “He knows me well,” she laughs. “I am hopeless when it comes to technology, so he did a good job and was so very specific regarding the iPad Pro specs. “He even wrote ‘TB – short for Terrabyte’ and I suppose it’s good that he added Applecare but didn’t overdo it by requesting an Apple pencil or keyboard!” “Hunter is thorough – his mother’s son,” Jacenko captioned the post online. He made sure to specify the exact specs of the $2929 iPad he wanted. Picture: Instagram It comes just days after Jacenko took to Instagram to share her custom $15,000 Christmas decorations as she got into the festive spirit last week. The floor-to-ceiling 11-metre fairy lights covered the entire facade of her house as she joked, “There’s nothing extra about me.” Jacenko, who splits her time between Sydney and Singapore, employed the Australian lighting company, Mr & Mrs Hill, to install the decorations and spared no expense when decking her house out with the dazzling display. Jacenko’s mansion is located in Sentosa Cove, known as “Millionaires’ Row”, which boasts a range of luxury mansions valued at over $25 million. It’s believed that the installation took two days to complete. Jacenko really got into the Christmas spirit this year and decked out her Singapore mansion with custom fairy lights. Picture: Instagram Jacenko and her husband Oliver Curtis moved to Singapore with daughter Pixie, 13, and son Hunter, 10, last year. They relocated when Curtis got a job, and Jacenko subsequently closed some of her Australian businesses to join him. However, the entrepreneur has announced she was back doing PR after announcing in November 2022 that she was closing down her PR company, Sweaty Betty. “Thrilled to be back doing what I know and love,” she told news.com.au. More Coverage Popular drink that’s worse than a Big Mac Star pregnant by stepbrother in undies horror Rebekah Scanlan Originally published as Roxy Jacenko reveals her 10yo’s lavish $4500 Christmas wish list More related stories Kids ‘Stingy’: Influencer thrifts kids’ Xmas gifts A mummy blogger has responded to critics who called her out for wearing an $80 T-shirt while showing off her op-shop hauls for her children. Read more Kids ‘Critical’: Aussie kids are ‘being robbed’ Children around the nation are increasingly being put at risk from this one common act, with an expert warning we must take action now. Read moreBeacon Healthcare Systems Expands Leadership Team with Addition of Ayman Mohamed as Chief Technology Officer
Thirteen candidates are vying for the presidency in the European Union and Nato member country, with the vote expected to go to a second round on December 8. Polls opened at 7am local time and will close at 9pm, with Romanians abroad able to vote since Friday. By 2pm, 4.8 million people – about 27% of eligible voters – had cast their ballots, according to the Central Election Bureau. The final vote could see George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), face off against incumbent Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who is backed by Romania’s largest party, the Social Democratic Party (PSD). The presidential role carries a five-year term and has significant decision-making powers in areas such as national security, foreign policy, and judicial appointments. Romania will also hold parliamentary elections on December 1 that will determine the country’s next government and prime minister. Mr Simion, 38, is a vocal supporter of US President-elect Donald Trump and has long been a figure of controversy. He campaigned for reunification with Moldova, which this year renewed a five-year ban on him from entering the country over security concerns, and he is banned for the same reason from entering neighbouring Ukraine. “I would like that in the next five to 10 years, for Romanians to be really proud to be Romanians, to promote Romanian culture, Romanian products,” he told reporters in the capital, Bucharest. “As a Romanian president, I will promote Romanian interests. In most cases, Romanian interests coincide with partner interests.” Mr Ciolacu said one of his biggest goals is “to convince Romanians that it is worth staying at home or returning” to Romania, which has a massive diaspora spread throughout EU countries. “Romania has a huge chance to become a developed economy in the next 10 years, where honest work is fairly rewarded and people have the security of a better life,” he said. “But for this, we need balance and responsibility... I am running for the Presidency of Romania because we need a change.” Other key candidates include Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union party, former Nato deputy general secretary Mircea Geoana, who is running independently, and Nicolae Ciuca, a former army general and head of the centre-right National Liberal Party, which is in a tense coalition with the PSD. Romania has been a staunch ally of Ukraine since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022. But Mr Simion of the AUR party said he opposes Romania — which has sent a Patriot missile system to Ukraine — contributing further military aid and that he hopes Mr Trump can “stop the war.” In 2020, the AUR party went from relative obscurity to gaining 9% in a parliamentary vote, allowing it to enter parliament. Opponents have long accused Mr Imion and AUR of being extremists, charges he denies. “We are sort of a Trumpist party in this new wave of patriotic political parties in Europe,” Simion said.
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