Hey may be one himself.
District Trial Judge Juan Merchan has scheduled sentencing in Trump’s hush money case for Sept. 18.
Both Merchan and prosecutor Alvin Bragg campaigned on putting Trump in jail, and it’s possible they will be able to keep their promises.
Trump was convicted of 34 concocted felonies in May, and despite the Supreme Court casting doubt on their legitimacy, Merchan is insisting on sentencing Trump a month from now.
Talk show host and former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis says every detail of the trial was engineered with the electoral calendar in mind.
“The judge in this case is going to be hard pressed to find a reason that he should spend time in jail, but Judge Merchan has not had such a good track record in this case of being objective and not pursuing the Democrats' interest. So, I wouldn't be surprised,” she said.
The sentencing was originally scheduled for July 11, but Merchan issued the delay while he considered how – if at all – the Supreme Court’s ruling granting presidents’ immunity for official acts committed in while in office affected the hush money case.
The Court issued its ruling on July 1.
If Merchan sends Trump to jail, the question becomes whether Merchan will actually have Trump fitted for an orange jumpsuit. The optics may be too hard for the Democrats to ignore.
Ellis says it might backfire on them, even though Merchan will probably defer some of the sentence to “make it seem like he's doing something a little more objective but that gets the Democrats to the Nov. 5 finish line with Trump in prison. I think that ultimately this would actually help him, if they want him to be in an orange jumpsuit.”
Booking mugshot a hit with both sides
Trump’s booking mugshot from a separate preceding was widely circulated on social media. It became fodder for his critics but galvanized his loyal base even more.
The image was taken after the former president surrendered himself to authorities in Atlanta.
“They think that's going to boost Kamala Harris, I think that's only going to make rational minded people who see through all of that support Trump even harder,” Ellis said.
