COMMENT: Mr. Armstrong, From here across the pond, the sentence of Donald Trump by this “acting” judge, as you have made clear, confirmed everything you have been saying. It was less of a judgment against Trump than a confirmation of how corrupt the American legal system has become.
For more than a year, all we read here in Europe was how horrible Trump was and that there was no way he would be elected president. This sentence in New York was more of a sentence against the legal system. This judge just wanted to call Trump a felon, and the conviction confirmed there was never a case to begin with.
Thank you for your independent analysis. It is highly respected on this side of the pond.
BP
REPLY: Indeed, the sentencing of Trump was really the final verdict on the New York legal system. The sentence with no jail or probation for the incoming president confirmed that this case was a joke and should have been dismissed. The fake acting judge Juan Merchan should be disbarred, for he only brought down the gavel on the New York legal system as a whole, disgracing the United States worldwide. NYC is now the laughing stock of the world, demonstrating you better not have any contact with anyone whose headquarters are in NYC. There is tremendous risk to do business in NYC for the courts are the most corrupt in the country.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Justices Arthur F. Engoron, and Juan Merchan have shown the world that the American legal system is far too often weaponized for political purposes. How could a judge sentence Trump legally when BY law required one-year supervised release? That would be, as president, he would have to report routinely, and if they did not like something, he would be instantly thrown in prison for the term of supervised release.
Technically, since Trump is a felon, Trump will walk away from this trial and into the White House in less than two weeks, but the New York system will walk into infamy after this day. Merchan did this solely for the pleasure of the Democrats getting something – the label felon, which we will now hear every time.
The case has long been denounced by every objective legal observer I know and have read. Even some of Trump’s critics have concluded this case was legally absurd. CNN’s senior legal analyst Elie Honig denounced the case as legally flawed and unprecedented, and then Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., called it total “bullshit.”
What was the most outrageous aspect of this case was the sheer arrogance of NY and how they do not care they are above the law. Alvan Bragg took this case that was based on a non-crime and breathed life into a long-dead misdemeanor. He breathed life into making his own version of the law when only the people make laws, crafting a novel and totally unconstitutional unfounded theory. By using federal violations that were never charged, denying a due process right to a trial, Bragg turned a misdemeanor into dozens of felonies and essentially tried Trump for federal offenses in a state court. The mere fact that the appellate court did not step in demonstrates that NYC cannot be trusted.
Then, this fake judge Merchan allowed those charges to be brought to trial using federal statutes in a state court but engaged in a witchhunt to convict Trump for political purposes. The liberal media cheered like they say the Romans were still laughing when the Barbarians entered the city. The real verdict was the election since Trump still managed to pull in 3.6 million New York votes, or 42.7%, in the 2024 election. So many polls confirmed that many people saw through this nonsense. The election itself was a verdict against this outrageous judge and had these people not engaged in all of this leag persecution, who knows, perhaps Trump would not have won.
The sad part of this entire weaponization of the law for political gain is that it has been the dark side of the rule of law since the very birth of civilization.
Even Edward Gibbon wrote about the ruthless emperor Commodus, who is the featured emperor in the classic movie Gladiator.
It’s Time for serious Legal Reform to actually stop this abuse of the rule of law.
Even Charles Dicken wrote in Bleak House,
“suffer any wrong that can be done you rather than come here” to a court of law (Chancery).
