National Review: Is Judge Merchan Crazy Enough To Give Trump Jail Time

We could be a month away from this.

Sure, it is unlikely to happen given the nature of the crime and Trump’s lack of a criminal record, but this whole case was contrived by Alvin Bragg to “get Trump.” The same is true of all the other cases. Now that Trump has been found guilty by a New York jury, do you show restraint or go all the way?

National Review:

“Today I invite you to contemplate the idea of Donald Trump in prison come the conclusion of his sentencing hearing in a Manhattan courtroom on July 11. (To recap for the one poor raggedy prisoner just emerging from two weeks of solitary confinement, Donald Trump was found guilty by a Manhattan jury on Friday on 34 felony counts of being The Worst and Most Unavoidable Person in the World, as per the long-stated goal of elected prosecutor Alvin Bragg.) …

You will notice that my argument that Trump is unlikely to get jail time is based on his status as a nonviolent first-time offender of a victimless and uniquely frankensteined-together novel “crime.” I have avoided arguing that it is due to civic norms like “it would look bad for Democrats to throw the opposition candidate for president in jail just before the election.” So now it’s time for me to point out that, yes, it would look absolutely terrible for the New York court to put Donald Trump behind bars for a jumped-up misdemeanor offense that usually results in fines, precisely because the way such crimes are typically treated would make a disproportionate sentence here look nakedly political. (Also, it would shake the country to its core during the late stages of a presidential election, which is no small thing — the logic here is overdetermined, as they say.) Although the court in theory is supposed to take no notice of this — and remember, the court should offer either a fine or a suspended sentence because that is standard practice, and no other reason — I do trust they understand the problematic optics here. … ”

I assume Judge Merchan will give the mob what it wants.

Donald Trump will be incarcerated on the eve of the Republican convention. It will spark a constitutional crisis. We are approaching the climax of this slow moving crisis era.

Note: I hope that doesn’t happen. I have spent the last year trying not to think about how much disruption the outcome of this election could cause in my own life.