The SCOTUS ruling that permitted sentencing to go forward on Friday, January 10, 2025, in the bogus case against President-Elect Donald Trump DOES NOT constitute a ruling on the (de)merits of the case.

The arguments that will near-certainly prevail on appeal cannot be offered UNTIL appeal. An appeal is NOT possible until AFTER sentencing.

The ruling simply rejects the narrow (and only permissible) argument that could, at this stage, be offered by Trump’s team; “Presidential immunity requires the postponement of the preceding until after Trump’s term as president.”

Merchan sentenced Trump to “unconditional discharge,” meaning no jail, no probation, and no fine. So what was the point? The point was to label Trump a “convicted felon.”

Trump responded remotely at the hearing:

“This has been a very terrible experience,” Trump said.

“This has been a political witch hunt,” he said the case was brought “to damage my reputation so I would lose the election.”

On Thursday, the US Supreme Court ruled that Trump could be sentenced in his New York hush-money case.

The order states:

The application for stay presented to Justice Sotomayor and by her referred to the Court is denied for, inter alia, the following reasons. First, the alleged evidentiary violations at President-Elect Trump’s state-court trial can be addressed in the ordinary course on appeal. Second, the burden that sentencing will impose on the President-Elect’s responsibilities is relatively insubstantial in light of the trial court’s stated intent to impose a sentence of “unconditional discharge” after a brief virtual hearing.

Had SCOTUS accepted Trump’s argument, the case would have remained in its present status: a jury decision to convict rendered but not officially entered by the judge and not sentenced. The damage to Trump and his second term would have been mitigated but not remedied.

Letting this abomination stand compounds the injustice, which, remember, is an injury to the entire system of justice, the presidency, and the political process. Damage mitigation isn’t enough. If the damaged integrity of our entire system of government is to be restored, THIS INJUSTICE MUST BE CORRECTED IN FULL.

An appeal is needed at which the corrupt and illegal behavior of this lunatic judge can be overruled, the facts of the case examined, the wrongful conviction overturned, and the record set straight.

To do so, Judge Merchan’s corrupt proceeding must be fully concluded so that an appeal or overturn can be possible.

Image: AP