A recent column on Fox News has claimed Donald Trump will be sent to prison as his sentenced in the hush money case on September 18. It alleges that Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw the trial, will give the sentence to ‘help’ the Harris-Walz campaign to portray him as a convicted felon.
Andrew McCarthy, a former assistant US attorney and a fellow at the National Review Institute in New York, has made the prediction in a column on Fox News. It comes as the upcoming sentencing heats up a campaign trail that has already seen a lot of chaos.
Although McCarthy predicts that Trump will receive a custodial sentence, he believes the former president will not be immediately incarcerated due to likely bail pending appeal. McCarthy asserts that Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the case, is using the sentencing to label Trump as a convicted felon just before the 2024 election, helping Vice President Kamala Harris and the “media-Democratic complex.”
Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in May and has consistently denied the charges, claiming political persecution. Some legal experts, however, argue that a prison sentence is unlikely for a nonviolent, first-time Class E felony, especially given the proximity to the election. They suggest that imposing a prison sentence on Trump could create a constitutional crisis, and anticipate emergency motions to delay any sentence.
McCarthy believes that Merchan’s actions are politically motivated, intending to impact the election by branding Trump as a criminal. Meanwhile, Trump’s legal team continues to challenge the ruling, arguing that some evidence presented during the trial might be protected by presidential immunity.
